UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


"W^? 

/ 


LETTERS    FROM   JAPAN 


AN   OUTDOOR   GREETING. 


Frontispiece 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


A   RECORD   OF   MODERN   LIFE   IN 
THE   ISLAND   EMPIRE 


BY 


MRS.   HUGH   FRASER 

AUTHOR  OF  "PALLADIA,"  "THE  LOOMS  OF  TIME,"  "A  CHAPTER 
OF  ACCIDENTS,"  ETC. 


WITH  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOL.    II 


fforfc 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

1899 

Att  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1899, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


J.  S.  Cushimr  «;  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  .Mass.  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS  TO  VOL.   II 

CHAPTER  XXI 

PAGE 

Enoshima,  the  Island  of  the  Tortoise  —  The  Sea-goddess's  City  r— The 
Home  of  the  Shells  —  "A  Bath  in  the  Wine  of  Life "  —  Kings 
and  Queens  of  the  Deep  —  Benten  Sama's  Temple  —  The  Cave 
of  the  Dragon 1 

CHAPTER  XXII 

A  Sensational  Journey  —  Ikao  and  the  Great  Hills  —  Kindly  Showers 
—  A  Walk  up  the  Gorge  —  Buddha  among  the  Teacups  —  The 
Colour  of  Ikao  —  Pictures  in  the  Village  Street  —  Fishing  for 
Goldfish  21 


From  Ikao  to  Karuizawa  —  The  Silk  Harvest  —  A  Rest  at  lizuka  — 
Climbing  up  the  Pass — A  Sea  of  Peaks  —  The  Palace  of  Peace 
—  Our  own  Policeman 41 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

'•In  the  Dawn  of  Time"  —  The  Star  Lovers  and  their  Story  —  The 

Pitiful  History  of  O  Sho  Rung 55 

CHAPTER  XXV 

The  Approach  of  the  Storm  —  At  the  Heart  of  the  Typhoon  —  A 
Funny  Sight  —  The  Usui  Toge  —  The  Story  of  a  Hero,  and  a 
Heroine  —  Yamato's  Repentance  —  "In  the  Sweet  Open  Fields"  73 

vii 


465209 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

PAGB 

The  Charcoal-burner  loses  his  Way  —  "A  Mistake  no  Crime "  — 
Invasion  !  —  Pilgrims  and  their  Ways  —  Pilgrim  Clubs  —  An 
Enterprising  Old  Lady 93 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

The  Autumn  Typhoon  —  The  Loss  of  the  Ertogroul — Legends  of 
Fuji  —  The  Great  Upheaval  —  Chinese  Tradition  and  the  Sacred 
Mountain  —  The  Story  of  Jof uku  —  The  Lotus  Peak  .  .  .  108 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

The  Opening  of  the  Diet  —  The  Attack  on  the  Russian  Legation  — 
Soshi  at  our  own  Gates  —  Prince  Komatsu  and  the  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Bath  —  The  Imperial  Chrysanthemums  ....  125 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

Nikko  at  last !  —  The  Bridge  of  Beauty  and  the  Bridge  of  Use  —  In 
the  Temple  Courts  —  The  Story  of  lyeyasu  —  His  Friend,  Will 
Adams,  the  Rochester  Pilot  —  A  Piece  of  Imprisoned  Sunshine  — 
Maples  and  Waterfalls  —  Chuzenji 148 

CHAPTER  XXX 

Another  Christmas  Tree  —  Babies,  European  and  Japanese  —  Ideals 
of  Home  and  School  —  A  Day  at  Meguro  —  A  Little  Samurai  Girl 
—  A  Visitation  of  Influenza  —  Miyanoshita  as  a  Sanatorium  — 
Burning  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament 168 

\ 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

A  Reading  Society  —  Stories  for  the  Japanese  Ladies  —  The  Empress's 
Verses  —  The  Exaggeration  of  a  Virtue  —  Marriage,  Eastern  and 
Western  —  Motherhood  and  Fatherhood  —  Parental  Ties  —  New 
Laws  of  Inheritance  188 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

PAGE 

The  Death  of  Prince  Sanjo  —  A  State  Funeral — A  Brave  Daughter 

—  Ogita's  Farewell  —  The  Shiba  Temples  —  A  Feast  of  Beauty    210 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 

In  the  Empress's  own  Garden  —  A  White  Sail  set  Square  to  the  Wind 

—  The  Boys'  Festival,  its  Origin  and  Meaning  —  Hideyoshi  and 

his  Battle  Standard  —  The  Mongolian  Invasion    .        .        .        .    231 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

The  Attack  on  the  Cesarevitch —  Loyal  Women  —  Tsuda  Sanzo  and 
his  Life  History  —  A  Nation  in  Mourning  —  Courageous  Judges 

—  A  Samurai  Maiden 253 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

The  Cottage  at  Horiuchi  —  The  Dear  Dead  —  Gifts  for  the  Spirits  — 

The  Bottom  of  the  Sea  —  Fishing  in  the  Empress's  Sea  Garden    .    272 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

Karuizawa  again  —  Furihata  is  restored  to  us  —  Our  own  Volcano  — 
The  Mountain's  Outer  Court  —  The  Iriyama  Toge  and  the  Cathe- 
dral Rocks  —  Sunset  Lilies  —  A  Forgotten  Monastery  and  a  Dying 
Man 285 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

Death  of  Father  Testevuide  —  Holy  Poverty — Unsuspected  Philan- 
thropists —  The  Leper  Hospital  again  —  A  Leper's  Death  —  Mere 
Sainte-Mathilde 303 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

The  Definition  of  a  Samurai  —  Samurai  Men  and  Women  —  Samurai 
Ideals  —  The  Red  Cross  Society  —  Sword-damascening  —  Clan 
Government  —  Sayonara,  Toki ! 312 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XXXIX 

PAGE 

A  Terrible  Earthquake  —  Destruction  of  a  Province  —  Kakke,  a  Strange 

Disease  —  Japanese  Trained  Nurses 326 


The  Marriage  of  Prince  Kan  in  and  Princess  Chive  Sanjo  —  The 
Wedding  Dinner  and  the  Wedding  Cake  —  The  Story  of  the 
Sun-goddess  —  Buddhist  and  Shinto  Nuns  —  An  Imperial  Abbess  340 

CHAPTER  XLI 

A  Visit  to  the  Museum  —  An  Ancient  Car  —  My  Guide  —  Christian 
Relics  —  Persecutors  and  Persecuted  —  An  Hour  in  the  Art  School 
among  the  Lacquer-workers 357 

CHAPTER  XLII 

The  Emperor's  Silver  Wedding — A  Typical  Gathering  —  No  Dancing 

—  The  Curtain  Falls  373 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOL.  II 

PAGE 

An  Outdoor  Greeting Frontispiece 

Benten  Sama .  .5 

"  Water,  wind-dimpled,  sun-kissed  "  .9 

A  Stone  Lantern     ...........       12 

A  Street  in  Enoshima    .  ...  ...       15 

Enoshima .17 

The  Lights  of  the  Chaya .24 

Moon  and  Lantern  .......  27 

Washing  the  Hands  before  praying  in  the  Temple     .  .31 

A  China  Shop          .         .         .         .         .         .         ,         .         .         .         .35 

Silk  Reeling 42 

Our  Summer  Home  Awake    ...  .....       51 

And  Asleep      ............       51 

How  the  Rice  grows       ..........       53 

The  Gentle  Birds 59 

Left  Alone 60 

Shadow  Games 62 

Shadow7  Games         .......  ...       63 

A  Daimyo's  Daughter 67 

The  Departure  of  O  Sho  Rung     ...  ....       71 

Pines  in  our  Mountain  Garden      ......  .74 

A  Rain  Storm ....       77 

In  Miyadzu's  Palace 89 

Dharmi,  a  Sage  who  floated  to  Japan  through  the  Water  .       97 

Pilgrims 99 

An  Old  Woman  Pilgrim ...     104 

Pleasure-boats  on  the  Lake     .         .         .         .         •         •         •         •         .111 

In  the  Land  of  Reeds  and  Shadows 114 

xi 


xii  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Fujiyama  from  Hakone  Lake 116 

Fujiyama  from  Iwabuchi .        .        .121 

H.  I.  H.  Prince  Fushimi  No  Miya 127 

H.  I.  H.  Princess  Fushimi  No  Miya 127 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  H.  I.  H.  Prince  Arisugawa  Taruhito      .  131 

Portrait  and  Autograph  of  H.  I.  H.  Princess  Arisugawa  Tada         .  135 

H.  I.  H.  Prince  Kita  Shirakawa 139 

H.  I.  H.  Prince  Komatsu 141 

H.  I.  H.  Princess  Komatsu    ....                 .                 .         .  141 

Chrysanthemums .  145 

The  Bridge  of  Beauty,  Nikko .151 

A  Temple  Gate  at  Nikko 157 

One  of  the  Nikko  Temples   ....                ....  159 

The  Long,  Long  Row  of  Buddhas 163 

Chuzenji  Lake 166 

One  of  our  Guests .  170 

One  of  the  Children 178 

Carrying  Dolly 181 

Yorkshire  Margaret  and  her  Brothers 184 

A  Japanese  Professor  and  his  Family .190 

Tying  on  the  Obi 193 

A  Japanese  Lady 196 

Coming  from  the  Bath ....  205 

Prince  Sanjo 213 

The  Sacred  Lotus 216 

The  Shiba  Cemetery .        .        .224 

Gate  of  the  Shiba  Temple 227 

The  Hall  of  the  Books 229 

A  Very  Old  Cherry  Tree  in  Bloom 233 

The  Fish  Festival 237 

A  Pleasure-boat  on  the  Canal 241 

A  Toy  Standard 244 

Kublai  Khan 250 

Kyoto .257 

The  Daughter  of  Viscount  Aoki 266 

A  Bronze  Incense-burner ...  268 

Incense-burner  in  the  Shape  of  a  Junk        ....                 .  269 

By  the  Summer  Sea 274 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

PAGK 

A  Greeting •  277 

Great  Fish  and  Little  Fish .  280 

A  Shoal  of  Fish .283 

Asama  Yama  . 

Crows  in  Japan       .  295 

The  Running  Postman •  297 

A  Brown-winged  Falcon                                                                                •  301 

A  Blind  Masseur •  305 

"A  Woman's  Spirit  is  her  Mirror" 317 

"  The  Fencing  has  begun  ! " 318 

A  Samurai  Lady  imploring  her  Son  not  to  commit  Suicide         .         .  319 

Results  of  the  Earthquake 329 

A  Relief  Camp ...  332 

A  Trained  Xurse 337 

Prince  Kotohito  Kanin 342 

Moon  Panel  (in  Gold  Lacquer)     .                                          ...  345 

Moon  and  Mist  (Gold  Lacquer)    ....                 ...  346 

Prayer  Beads  among  the  Sacred  Treasures  of  Ise        .        .        .        .  347 

The  God  who  is  called  the  Thinker     ...                 ...  350 

Cherry  Trees  on  the  Sumida  River 358 

"  The  Empress  .  .  .  stands  in  the  midst  of  them "     .         .         .         .  361 

A  Daimyo's  Medicine-box  in  Lacquer  (Back) 365 

A  Medicine-box  (Front) 365 

A  Gold-lacquered  Casket  of  the  Earliest  Period          .        .        .        .367 

A  Happy  Family 370 

The  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies                                    ....  375 

Count  Inouye 3<7 

Marquis  Saigo 377 

Silver  Wedding  Medal 379 

Count  Okuma 380 

Baron  Ito          . 381 

My  Silver  Crane 385 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


CHAPTER   XXI 

ENOSHIMA,  THE  ISLAND  OF  THE  TORTOISE.  —  THE  SEA-GOD- 
DESS'S  CITY.  —  THE  HOME  OF  THE  SHELLS. — "A  BATH 
IN  THE  WINE  OF  LIFE."  -KINGS  AND  QUEENS  OF  THE 
DEEP.  —  BENTEN  SAMA'S  TEMPLE.  —  THE  CAVE  OF  THE 
DRAG OX 

ENOSHIMA,  May,  1890. 

rTlHE  name  is  so   beautiful   that   I  must  write  it  at 
the    top  of   my   paper,  although  I   am  sitting  in 
the   hotel  at  Kamakura,  and  I  cannot  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  dream  island  where  I  spent  my  yesterday. 

Enoshima !  On  a  lovely  morning  of  sunshine  and 
showers  we  left  Kamakura,  and  passed  through  the 
low  screen  of  hills  which  shuts  it  in  to  the  right.  The 
rain  had  laid  the  dust,  and  the  air  was  keen  and  saltly 
sweet ;  for  the  night  had  been  a  somewhat  stormy 
one.  As  we  rounded  down  from  the  hills  through 
deep-cut  paths  to  the  shore,  we  could  hear  the  slow 
rollers  thundering  in  before  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
sea  itself.  Then,  as  we  climbed  the  crest  of  a  sand- 
dune,  it  lay  wide  and  near,  laughing  in  the  sunshine, 
moving  in  lazy  billows  as  if  tired  with  its  rough  play 


2  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

of  the  night.  A  wide  stretch  of  sand,  dun  in  the 
shade,  gold  in  the  sun,  and  smooth  as  the  cheek  of  a 
little  child,  swept  away  in  a  perfect  curve  that  broke 
once  under  the  climbing  waves,  and  then  rose  high  in 
a  dusky  embowered  mass,  floating  in  haze  and  sunshine 
out  at  sea,  the  island  of  the  tortoise,  Enoshima. 
"How  can  we  reach  it?"  I  asked  of  Ogita;  "there 
is  no  boat  there ! "  "  Boat  not  in,  but  honourably 
walking,"  Ogita  replied ;  and  pointed  to  a  light  wooden 
causeway,  which  seemed  to  dance  on  the  water,  more 
like  a  toy  bridge  in  a  lady's  garden  than  a  serious 
link  betwreen  island  and  mainland.  But  Ogita  ex- 
plained :  the  water  was  only  a  foot  or  two  deep 
beneath  the  woodwork ;  and  this  would  not  be  needed 
at  all,  were  it  not  that,  when  the  wind  blew  violently 
from  the  south,  the  waves  washed  up  far  beyond  their 
usual  limit.  There  was  no  danger ;  to-night  we  could 
probably  return  on  the  sands. 

So  leaving  our  jinrikshas,  we  started  on  foot 
towards  the  mystic  island,  so  full  of  strange  gods  and 
strange  presences,  so  wrapped  in  the  web  of  story, 
so  little  a  part  of  the  life  of  to-day,  that  one  almost 
expects  to  see  it  float  out  to  sea  and  melt  into  cloud 
on  the  horizon.  But  not  to-day,  not  until  I  have 
passed  over  the  swaying  bridge,  where  the  water  breaks 
up  lightly,  splashing  my  feet,  and  even  throwing  a 
little  spray  in  my  eyes,  so  that  the  splendid  bronze 
gate  of  the  sea-goddess's  city  towers  and  sways  for  a 
moment  in  my  dazzled  vision.  Then  the  drops  clear 
away,  and  I  see  the  torii  in  all  its  grandeur.  Its 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  3 

beautiful  shape  seems,  as  it  were,  to  square  the  circle, 
to  give  all  that  is  strong  in  angles,  all  that  is  lovely 
in  curves ;  and  through  its  dragon-wrought,  wave-swept 
portal  I  see  the  long  street  of  a  climbing  town,  climb- 
ing high  up  to  the  sunshine  on  wTings  of  fluttering  blue 
that  feather  its  sides  above,  on  feet  of  mother-of-pearl, 
where  the  shells  lie  heaped  on  doorstep  and  window 
and  wall  —  shells  white  and  lustrous  as  bridal  moons ; 
shells  dazzling  and  whorled  as  the  snow-queen's  crown ; 
shells  rosy,  thick,  thousands  upon  thousands,  like  shed 
petals  piled  together,  as  if  all  the  cherry  blossoms  of 
the  spring  had  been  blown  out  to  Enoshima  on  one 
saving  breeze,  and  touched  to  immortality  as  they  fell 
on  the  brown  strand  of  Benten's  magic  island. 

Enoshima  is  the  home  of  all  the  shells  in  Japan, 
and  those  which  the  sea  does  not  give  it  are  brought 
there  by  the  gatherers  from  far  and  near.  My  little 
friends  on  the  Kamakura  beaches  have  doubtless  added 
their  store  to  the  rosy  heaps  which  lie  in  open  baskets 
on  either  hand  as  I  climb  the  steep  street.  The  flutter 
of  blue  wings  overhead  is  made  by  hundreds  of  shop 
signs,  strange  white  letters  on  blue  cotton  for  the 
most  part,  hanging  close  together,  and  serving  as  a 
sign  to  the  passer-by,  and  a  shade  to  the  indwellers 
of  the  little  houses.  To  these  people  the  sea  is  their 
one  treasure-house,  the  gracious  provider  for  all  then* 
simple  needs ;  and  they  take  it  and  its  wonders  for 
granted.  To  us,  outsiders,  who  go  to  Enoshima  once 
in  a  lifetime,  the  visit  is  a  revelation  of  the  riches 
and  beauties  of  the  world  of  water  that  laps  round 


4  LETTEKS   FROM   JAPAN 

our  world  of  earth.  How  can  I  put  before  you  any 
picture  of  the  white  and  rosy  wonders  piled  on  either 
side  of  the  rough,  poor  little  street  ?  In  Europe  we 
never  see  these  things  in  their  glory ;  occasionally  one 
poor  specimen,  brought  home  in  a  seaman's  chest,  finds 
its  way  to  a  dull  shop,  grey  and  mournful  as  the 
northern  winter,  and  arrests  us  as  with  a  dazzle  of 
tropical  sunshine,  a  flushing  of  rose,  and  a  call  of  the 
southern  sea.  In  my  wanderings  about  Vienna,  of  all 
unlikely  places,  I  came  once  on  a  naturalist's  den, 
where,  in  a  dusty  corner,  lay  one  of  these  incurled 
cups  of  the  sea,  warm  ivory  on  the  fluted  verge,  sun- 
set colour  nearer  the  heart,  its  curves  as  free  and  fine 
as  the  soft  blown  draperies  on  young  limbs  which 
some  Greek  sculptor  saw  in  the  laurel  groves  of  Hellas 
and  reproduced  with  tears  in  his  slavery  in  Rome. 
I  knelt  down,  there  in  Vienna,  and  put  my  ear  to  the 
great  shell's  mouth;  and  deep  in  its  heart  it  was  sing- 
ing still,  a  song  of  morning  seas  and  velvet  sands  and 
fisher-lads,  the  song  that  I  heard  again  to-day  on  the 
sacred  steps  of  Enoshima.  For  Enoshima  is  sacred, 
from  the  caves  at  its  foot  to  the  temples  on  its  sum- 
mit ;  consecrated  at  first  to  Benten,  the  goddess  of  love 
and  good  fortune,  always  gracious  and  helpful  to  the 
lads  who  must  make  their  living  at  sea.  But  Benten 
was  a  Buddhist  goddess,  and  at  the  so-called  "  Purifica- 
tion of  Shinto"  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  reign, 
she  was  banished  from  her  temples  in  Enoshima  with 
other  Buddhist  divinities,  and  her  island  kingdom  was 
given  over  to  the  care  of  Shinto  priests.  But  the 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


people  in  Enoshima  have  not  concurred  in  the  Imperial 
condemnation,  and  Benten  Saina  still  reigns  there,  none 
the  less  supreme  because  she  is  invisible.  The  first 


BENTEN    SAMA 


fisher-lad  on  the  shore  will  offer  to  guide  you  to  her 
temple,  and  in  the  little  silent  curious  crowd  which 
follows  you  from  place  to  place  deprecatory  glances 
and  pitying  smiles  will  be  exchanged  if  you  say  that 
you  do  not  mean  to  clinib  so  far. 


6  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

And  at  first,  in  truth,  I  did  not  say  I  would ;  for 
I  thought  the  hours  of  daylight  would  hardly  see  me 
past  the  street  of  shells.  The  sun  was  mounting  high, 
and  shot  down  hotly  between  the  flutterings  of  the 
flags ;  inside  the  low  shops  were  a  thousand  strange 
things,  to  be  bought  for  such  tiny  sums  that  all  my 
following  had  both  hands  full  in  half  an  hour ;  a  breeze 
from  the  sea,  warm  and  cool  at  once,  and  wholly  salt 
and  refreshing,  lifted  the  cotton  screens  and  caused 
them  to  rustle  and  snap  joyously ;  and  I  stayed  on, 
turning  from  one  thing  to  another  in  the  luminous  low 
shops.  The  light  has  a  strange  quality  in  Enoshima. 
All  through  Japan  it  is  admirably  strong  and  pure ;  but 
here  it  almost  has  a  colour  of  its  own  —  a  colour  made 
of  the  sheen  of  mother-of-pearl  and  the  gem-gleams 
under  the  sea,  and  morning  haze,  and  the  shadow  of 
the  rock  on  the  waves ;  a  million  vibrations  reaching 
the  eye  at  once,  all  dancing,  alive,  iridescent,  melted  in 
one  copious  wash  of  sunshine,  to  me  like  a  bath  in  the 
wine  of  life.  Against  it  all  shadows  are  transparent, 
cool,  just  light  of  another  colour,  light  asleep,  no  dark- 
ness anywhere.  The  low-roofed  treasure-house  of  shells 
has  no  dusky  corners;  every  detail  is  absolutely  clear, 
every  beauty  stands  out  to  be  praised  and  catalogued. 
Here  at  my  feet  are  the  kings  and  queens  of  the  deep, 
—  huge  nautilus  shells  like  hollow  pearls  filled  with 
moonlight,  open  shells  where  Benten  (or  Venus  or 
Freya,  it  is  but  a  change  of  name)  must  have  rested 
and  slept  one  summer's  night,  for  they  are  warm  and 
rosy  still,  and  reach  out  their  curved  lips  laughingly 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  7 

for  something  to  kiss ;  there  are  solemn  conch  shells, 
that  have  slept  under  brown  seaweed  in  autumn  star- 
light, and  have  caught  the  rhymed  chant  of  the  waves 
on  the  shore ;  open  shells  of  green  and  grey  mother-of- 
pearl,  with  shifting  crimson  gleams  on  the  vigorous 
edge  turned  in  like  an  ear  strained  and  alert,  where 
five  round  holes  pierce  through  in  mystic  symmetry, 
as  if  the  sea-king's  daughter  had  been  trying  her  ear- 
rings there ;  and  there  are  little  shells  in  myriads  as 
I  have  said,  thick  as  the  Empress's  cherry  blossoms 
in  spring ;  there  are  showers  of  spun  glass,  as  sharp 
and  silvery  as  moonbeams  on  ice,  and  these  are  the 
glass  ropes  of  the  beautiful  Hyalonema  sponges;  there 
are  huge  tortoise  shields,  measuring  four  and  five  feet 
across,  but  these  we  would  not  look  at,  having  been 
promised  a  sight  of  a  mythical  tortoise  whose  home 
is  supposed  to  be  somewhere  in  the  Enoshima  caves, 
and  who  is  said  to  measure  twenty-three  feet  across 
his  old  back ;  there  are  sprays  of  shells  like  lilies-of- 
the-valley  dipped  in  milk,  sea-foam  lilies  —  they  are  born 
of  a  kiss,  where  the  sun  met  the  wave :  and  besides 
all  these,  hundreds  of  ornaments  cut  out  of  mother-of- 
pearl  —  big  fish  and  little  fish  (I  bought  strings  of  these 
all  hung  together,  of  the  softest  pink,  and  rarely  carved), 
hairpins  with  moons  and  rabbits  and  roses  and  branches 
of  plum  and  cherry  blossom ;  and  tiny  glass  cups  blown 
double,  with  a  shell  or  two  and  a  wisp  of  seaweed 
and  a  gleam  of  gold-dust  loose  inside  the  glass,  run- 
ning down  to  your  lip  as  you  drink,  but  never  pass- 
ing from  the  crystal  prison  unless  you  break  it,  when 


8  LETTERS   EROM  JAPAN 

you  will  lose  the  value  of  three-quarters  of  a  farthing, 
and  destroy  a  thing  of  fairy  beauty  which  would  have 
told  you  stories  of  sea  and  sunshine  to  the  day  of  your 
death ! 

At  last  I  tore  myself  away  from  the  shells,  and 
climbed  a  path  that  led  up  by  grey  stone  steps  under 
solemn  trees  to  an  inn,  which  hangs  like  a  gull's  nest 
high  on  the  face  of  the  cliff,  staring  out  to  sea.  And 
what  a  sea !  The  breadth  and  the  blue  of  it !  From 
that  high  place  the  horizon  is  so  distant  that  it  almost 
ceases  to  be ;  the  world  is  a  sapphire  globe  endomed 
in  sun-shot  crystal ;  earth  seems  an  accident,  Enoshima 
here  a  seaweed  freak  that  has  come  up  to  breathe ; 
I  and  it  may  pass  away,  but  sea  and  sunshine  seem 
eternal  in  their  white  empire  of  noon. 

The  little  inn  is  fresh  and  white,  and  open  to  the 
bay  as  an  empty  shell.  On  the  side  to  the  sea  all 
the  screens  have  been  removed,  and  the  wooden  veran- 
dah runs  past  three  rooms  as  open  as  itself,  and  then 
drops  suddenly,  as  it  were,  down  a  very  steep  stair- 
case, shining  as  lacquer  and  innocent  of  a  handrail. 
Also  the  steps  have  no  connecting  planks;  and  as  one 
goes  up  or  down  one  sees  between  them  the  laughing 
brown  faces  of  coolies  or  pilgrims  resting  in  the  space 
below,  and  much  amused  to  see  how  high-heeled  foreign 
shoes  catch  and  slip  on  the  polished  wood.  As  I  look 
down  through  the  openings,  I  see  the  maid  of  the  inn 
making  my  tea  with  care  under  Ogita's  directions,  and 
Rinzo  is  toasting  bread  on  his  chopsticks  over  a  hibachi; 
so  I  turn  back,  and  wait  for  the  simple  meal,  feeling 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN  9 

rather  ashamed  to  need  food  at  all  in  the  face  of  such 
a  view  on  such  a  morning!  But  one  is  only  human 
after  all,  and  emotions  are  distinctly  exhausting ;  so 
I  am  very  glad  when  the  musume  comes  in,  on  her 
knees,  and  pushes  towards  me  a  carved  tray  in  the 


"WATER,  WIND-DIMPLED,  SUK-KISSED" 

form  of  a  lotus  leaf,  with  a  teapot  shaped  like  a  shell, 
and  cups  painted  with  little  goldfish  swimming  round 
the  base  of  Fuji  San. 

My  companions  have  gone  away,  and  for  a  moment 
I  am  alone  in  Japan  —  that  much  of  Japan  which 
surrounds  me  here.  On  the  floor  are  cool  wheat- 
coloured  mats,  and  thin  silk  cushions  in  bright  silks 
lie  about  for  seats.  The  inner  screens  of  the  rooms 
have  much  white  wood  about  them;  and  what  paper 


10  LETTEES  FEOM  JAPAN 

there  is,  is  pale  blue,  with  a  sprinkling  of  silver  pine 
needles  on  it.  The  alcove  of  honour,  the  tokonoma, 
is  framed  in  by  a  tree,  a  beautiful  ash  trunk,  still 
wearing  its  fine  bark ;  and  a  branch  reaching  out  is 
embedded  in  the  ceiling,  and  marks  the  arch  of  the 
alcove.  Here  the  paper  is  very  rich,  a  running  melon 
design  in  crusted  silver,  and  against  it  hangs  a  scroll, 
with  a  poem  written  on  it  in  bold  grass  characters. 
Below,  on  the  step,  stands  a  tall  bronze  vase,  holding 
some  sea-grasses  and  a  branch  of  pine ;  and  on  the 
side  of  the  frame  opposite  the  tree  trunk  a  bamboo 
stand  for  fans  is  hung,  and  holds  two  or  three  of  the 
hotel  fans,  which  are  presented  to  the  guests  as  keep- 
sakes. They  are  rather  violent  in  colour  —  on  one  side 
scarlet,  with  the  name  of  the  inn  printed  in  white,  but 
the  back  is  softer,  with  a  picture  of  an  enormous  turtle 
with  a  fringed  tail  creeping  up  on  a  very  small  rock ; 
the  rock  represents  Enoshima,  and  the  turtle  the  inn, 
for  it  is  called  "The  House  of  the  Golden  Turtle." 

The  musume  creeps  in  to  know  if  I  will  have  some 
more  tea,  and  I  keep  her  to  tell  me  something  about 
herself.  Her  name  is  Ko,  she  says,  and  she  is  seven- 
teen, and  very  glad  that  I  admire  her  bright-green 
sash,  which  was  a  present  from  her  brother  at  New 
Year.  Her  brother  is  a  waiter  at  Atami;  and  she 
too  goes  to  Atami  in  the  winter,  for  then  no  one 
visits  Enoshima,  and  the  mistress  here  keeps  no  maid. 
Wages?  No,  she  has  no  wages,  but  her  food  and  a 
summer  dress ;  and  the  visitors  are  honourably  kind. 
Two  English  ladies  stayed  here  ten  days  a  little  while 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  11 

ago,  and  they  also  made  pictures  —  ah  !  but  this  Oku- 
sama's  picture  is  prettier;  and  she  comes  and  laughs 
over  the  drawing  of  herself  in  my  sketch-book,  and 
then  some  one  calls  for  her,  and  she  bows  and  glides 
away;  and  I  hear  her  drop  softly  down  the  polished 
stairs,  and  slip  on  her  straw  zori  with  a  little  click  at 
the  bottom. 

And  now  the  time  for  rest  is  over,  and  I  must 
climb  the  hill  and  see  Benten  Sama's  Temple,  and  go 
down  to  the  caves  on  the  other  side,  and  do  many 
things  for  which  the  day  seems  short.  The  sun  has 
passed  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  island  ridge,  and 
all  the  path  on  this  side  is  in  shadow.  A  light  moist- 
ure seems  hanging  in  the  air,  and  fern  fronds  are  un- 
curling, and  pine  branches  seem  to  be  stretching  in 
the  cool  relief  of  the  afternoon.  As  we  leave  the  inn 
and  turn  up  the  ascending  road,  a  party  of  pilgrims 
pass  us,  an  old,  old  man  with  his  sons  and  grandsons, 
all  carrying  staves,  with  the  little  blue  towels  which 
they  will  take  as  offerings  to  the  shrine  tied  to  them, 
done  up  in  gay  printed  papers.  They  look  at  us 
curiously,  and  go  on,  in  single  file,  saying  some 
prayers,  I  think,  for  they  exchange  no  remarks  on 
our  appearance  as  they  go  by.  We  are  taking  it 
slowly,  enjoying  the  delicious  freshness  of  the  sea, 
and  in  no  hurry  to  face  the  sun,  still  hot  on  the 
other  slope.  And  so  we  pass  from  terrace  to  terrace 
of  the  island  stair ;  for  the  sides  of  Enoshima  are 
steep,  and  rise  from  the  sea  in  huge  steps  like  the  vine 
terraces  of  Amalfi.  But  here  there  are  stone  balus- 


12 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


trades  at  the  edge,  and  behind  them  stone  lanterns, 
and  here  and  there  a  torii,  and  here  and  there  a  shrine, 
decayed  and  empty,  but  not  quite  forgotten,  as  the  rough 
bamboo  vases  filled  with  still  fresh  wild 
flowers  testify ;  and  more  than  once  an 
incense-stick  just  lighted  sends  up  its 
close-curling  spiral  of  smoke,  blue-grey 
against  the  weather-worn  stone,  and 
everywhere  the  background  is  deep- 
green  foliage  growing  straight  and  thick 
against  the  cliff. 

The  three  temples  of  Benten  Sama 
stand  one  above  the  other,  separated  by 
a  wave  of  dark  trees,  each  sadder  and 
more  deserted  than  the  last,  till  the 
third  crowns  the  ridge  with  something 
of  stately  desolation.  The  Shinto  re- 
form, whatever  it  was,  seems,  like  some 
other  so-called  reforms,  to  have  been  a 
thing  sour  .and  unlovely,  strong  only 
for  destruction,  and  incapable  of  filling  up  the  shrines 
emptied  by  its  iconoclastic  rage.  Where  it  reigns  alone, 
"  purified,"  as  its  adherents  call  it,  it  strikes  one  with 
dull  depression.  There  is  nothing  in  the  dusty  mirror 
and  the  torn  gohei  to  inspire  hope  in  the  future  or 
courage  in  the  present.  The  face  of  Buddha  is  as  the 
face  of  a  friend,  serene,  merciful,  gracious  to  poor  human- 
ity ;  but  in  the  mirror  of  Shinto  man  finds  only  his  own 
travel-stained  reflection — the  picture  of  that  self  which 
must  be  left  behind  before  he  can  enter  into  peace. 


A    STONE    LANTERN 


LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN  13 

Round  the  entrance  of  the  chief  Temple  is  an 
enclosing  fence,  called,  I  think,  the  "Jewel  Hedge"  in 
Shinto  phraseology,  but  enclosing  no  jewels  here,  or  at 
least  only  the  mystic  ones  which  would  have  no  value 
for  mankind  at  large.  The  Temple  is  empty  and 
dusty  like  the  others;  but  Ogita,  with  superb  contempt 
for  the  "purification  of  Shinto,"  persuades  me  to  sit 
down  on  a  mossy  stone,  and  listen  to  his  stories  of 
Benten  Sama  and  all  her  goodness  and  greatness  and 
beauty.  I  think-  she  must  be  Ogita's  patron  goddess, 
for  he  rarely  waxes  eloquent  about  any  other,  and 
smiles  rather  pityingly  at  many  a  strange  idol  that  I 
want  stories  about.  But  when  he  speaks  of  Benten 
Sama  his  eyes  light  up,  his  delicate  aquiline  face  takes 
on  a  flush  of  colour,  and  there  is  quite  a  ring  in  his 
queerly  constructed  phrases.  He  is  a  samurai,  a  great 
swordsman  still,  and  a  favourite  instructor  in  the  noble 
art ;  so  I  am  a  little  surprised  at  this  devotion  to  the 
lady  of  love  and  luck.  As  for  explanations,  ask  them 
not  of  a  Japanese !  The  springs  of  action  for  him  and 
you  are  separated  by  an  almost  impassable  gulf.  After 
years  of  intercourse,  he  might  understand  the  real 
drift  of  your  question ;  more  years  would  have  to 
elapse  before  you  could  understand  his  answer. 

But  while  we  were  philosophising  on  the  portal  of 
Benten' s  desecrated  home,  the  sun  had  passed  away 
from  us  to  the  western  slope  of  the  island,  and  we 
must  follow,  or  night  would  fall  long  before  we  could 
reach  the  mainland  again,  for  there  is  much  to  see  on 
the  western  side.  Unfortunately,  I  suppose,  I  am  a 


14  LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN 

very  slow  sight-seer.  That  which  pleases  me  must  be 
seen  to  the  uttermost  before  I  want  to  move  on  to 
the  next  object  of  interest,  even  if  it  be  incomparably 
more  important.  On  the  very  crest  of  Benten's  island 
I  found  some  little  tea-houses,  open  to  the  sea,  empty 
for  the  breeze  to  riot  through,  airy  sun-dried  nests, 
where  one  could  sit  in  the  shade  of  a  thin  awning,  and 
look  out  on  the  blue  world  of  water  —  water  wind- 
dimpled,  sun-kissed,  deepest  sapphire  in  the  shadow  of 
a  rock  a  thousand  feet  below  me,  but  fading  into 
tender  haze  far  off  on  the  horizon,  where,  away  to  the 
south,  the  island  volcano  of  Oshima  sent  up  the  thin 
spiral  of  smoke  which  I  used  to  watch  for  hours  from 
the  Atami  shore.  That  light  cloud,  never  changing 
shape,  white  by  night  and  grey  by  day,  has  a  kind  of 
symbolic  importance  in  this  coast  landscape.  It  is  like 
the  gentle  regret  of  a  faithful  soul,  a  shred  of  mist  on 
the  background  of  life,  the  sound  of  a  sigh  in  every 
pause  of  its  brave  music ! 

Here  on  the  hill  a  very,  very  old  woman  gave  me 
tea,  and  bowed  her  poor  grey  head  to  the  ground  when 
I  praised  the  view.  She  said  her  house  was  poor  and 
mean,  and  I  made  Ogita  tell  her  that  it  was  rich  in 
beauty,  and  her  tea  most  refreshing;  whereupon  she 
made  me  a  present  of  a  fairy  teacup,  of  the  thinnest 
china,  with  the  ghost  of  Fuji  San  dreamed  into  it  —  if 
you  will  forgive  the  barbaric  phrase.  English  is  a 
clumsy,  square-toed  vehicle  of  expression,  and  stumbles 
along,  crushing  a  thousand  beauties  of  my  Japanese 
thought  garden,  which  a  more  delicate  language  (or  a 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  15 

more  skilful  writer!)  might  have  preserved  for  you. 
The  little  old  woman  was  such  a  personality,  the  only 
soul  in  sight,  for  the  other  houses  seemed  empty;  her 
grey  hair  was  cut  almost  short,  and  gathered  in  with 
a  comb  at  the  back  of  her  head;  her  hands  were  like 
knotty  twigs  on  old  pine  trees,  and  her  brown  body 


A    STREET    IN    EXOSHI.MA 


was  so  withered  and  sea-dried  that  it  was  more  like  a 
weather-beaten  shell  than  anything  which  still  has  to 
consume  and  decay ;  her  eyes  were  bright  still,  even 
through  the  tears  of  old  age,  and  her  coarse'  blue 
garments  were  clean  and  faded,  as  if  they  had  often 
been  washed  in  salt  water.  One  son  was  a  soldier, 
she  said,  one  a  fisherman,  who  had  been  drowned  at 
sea ;  her  granddaughter  had  gone  down  the  cliff  to 
wash  her  clothes,  and — august  thanks — would  the  lady 
return  some  day  —  return  soon  ?  Sayonara,  Sayonara ! 


16  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

We  left  her  standing  before  the  square  opening 
which  she  called  her  house,  behind  her  the  farther  sea, 
the  awning  over  her  head  flapping  like  a  dazzling  white 
wing  against  its  blueness,  at  her  feet  the  first  of  a  long 
flight  of  steps  cut  in  yellowish  stone,  which  led  down 
the  steep  cliff  to  the  famous  cave  of  the  Dragon,  whose 
opening  is  hardly  above  high-water  level.  If  the 
Dragon  ever  lived  here,  he  went  long  ago  —  went 
perhaps  with  Benten  Sama  to  the  under-world ;  Ogita 
tells  me  that  the  cave  only  holds  its  name  on  account 
of  its  shape,  like  a  dragon's  tail,  twisting  and  curving 
and  diminishing  as  it  runs  into  the  island's  heart,  where 
it  is  lost  in  blackness.  At  the  foot  of  the  rude  steps 
(far  ruder  and  steeper  than  I  cared  for)  one  or  two 
natural  terraces  are  formed  by  rocks  jutting  out  and 
then  shelving  down  to  the  water.  They  are  connected 
with  planks,  forming  rather  crazy  bridges,  much  shaken 
by  the  thud  of  the  water  breaking  below.  We  have 
to  scramble  over  these  to  get  round  to  the  entrance 
of  the  cave ;  the  water  has  receded  now,  and  left  a 
few  pools,  where  boys  are  diving  for  crabs,  the  little 
Enoshima  crabs  which  are  much  prized  in  Tokyo. 
Then  we  find  a  girl,  who  must  be  the  granddaughter 
of  our  old  hostess  on  the  cliff,  kneeling  on  bare  knees 
by  a  pool,  her  sleeves  all  bound  back,  her  skirts  kilted 
up,  washing  some  poor  blue  wisps  of  clothing  which 
seem  hardly  worth  the  toil.  We  pass  a  stone  lantern, 
pass  the  boys,  who  want  to  sell  us  crabs,  and  then 
suddenly  our  swaying  bridge  with  its  broken  handrail 
turns  where  the  sea  rushes  with  a  roar  into  the  cleft 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  19 

heart  of  the  rocks,  and  we  follow  it  dizzily,  deafened 
with  the  thundering  echoes  of  the  cave,  and  more 
than  once  blinded  by  a  drift  of  spray,  breaking  high 
on  its  wet  black  sides. 

Some  little  way  within  the  entrance  we  come  to 
solid  ground,  marked  by  a  shrine,  where  a  soft  gleam 
of  light  makes  a  ring  of  gold  on  the  gloom  —  a  little 
wooden  shrine,  which  must,  I  think,  be  the  one  of 
which  Rein  says  that  it  has  to  be  removed  every 
spring,  and  put  back  several  feet  from  where  it  can 
stand  in  the  winter,  because,  while  the  south-west  mon- 
soon blows,  the  water  piles  higher  on  all  the  south 
coast,  and  then  falls  again  when  the  monsoon  changes. 
As  I  approach  I  find  the  golden  ring  growing  larger, 
and  can  distinguish  a  number  of  candles  burning  be- 
hind the  shrine ;  they  have  been  carried  into  the  cave 
by  pilgrims,  and  are  left  here  as  an  offering  when  the 
exploration  is  over.  A  shadowy  guardian  sells  some 
of  them  again  to  us,  and  we  creep  into  the  damp  twist- 
ing passage,  from  which  other  passages  branch  off 
blackly.  We  pass  rough  gods  hewn  in  the  rock,  grey 
and  solemn,  buried  in  this  eternal  darkness  near  the 
springs  of  things,  feeling  the  earthquake  rive  its  way 
to  the  light  through  the  heart  of  the  world,  hearing 
the  thud  of  breakers  on  the  outer  wall  of  their  island 
castle;  visited  day  after  day  in  the  kindly  summer 
by  poor  pilgrims,  rich  in  faith  and  devotion  to  the 
only  gods  their  twilight  has  revealed,  left  alone  in 
the  long  months  of  winter  while  the  salt  creeps  over 
their  faces  like  a  veil,  and  the  crawling  sea  things  have 


20  LETTEES  FROM  JAPAN 

it  all  to  themselves  in  the  empty  passages.  What!  I 
must  stoop  and  creep  through  that  black  hole  to  reach 
the  last  and  most  holy  shrine?  No,  Ogita,  the  day- 
light is  sweet,  and  holy  too;  and  here  there  is  a  drip 
of  dead  water,  the  air  is  thick  and  grave-bound.  Out 
to  the  world  again,  please;  I  have  no  mind  to  be 
buried  before  my  time,  and  I  fear  to  faint  in  this 
choking  darkness.  Ah !  there  it  is,  beyond  the  damp 
rock  walls  and  the  smoking  candles,  beyond  the  cave's 
mouth  is  my  world  —  a  world  of  sunlit  breakers,  and 
scudding  clouds,  and  fresh  salt  breeze  stinging  every 
sense  to  triumphant  life  again. 

An  hour  later  I  look  back  from  the  sandy  pass 
over  the  dune.  Enoshima  seems  to  have  swum  out  to 
sea,  and  lies  a  misty  mass,  its  face  turned  away  from 
me  to  the  dull-red  line  which  shows  where  the  sun 
dropped  but  a  few  moments  ago.  The  night  is  upon 
us,  quick  and  cold ;  we  must  draw  our  wraps  closely, 
as  we  speed  along  the  darkened  road.  Sayonara, 
Enoshima ! 


CHAPTER   XXII 

A    SENSATIONAL    JOURNEY.  — IKAO    AND    THE    GREAT    HILLS. 

-  KINDLY     SHOWERS.  —  A     WALK      UP     THE     GORGE.  — 

BUDDHA   AMONG    THE   TEACUPS. — THE    COLOUR  OF   IKAO. 

—  PICTURES     IN    THE    VILLAGE    STREET.  FISHING    FOR 

GOLDFISH 

IKAO,  July,  1890. 

summer  quarters  in  Karuizawa  were  not  quite 
ready,  so  we  came  up  here  for  a  fortnight,  since 
Tokyo  had  become  unbearably  warm  and  damp.  The 
dampness  is  here  too ;  for  it  rains  much,  and  between 
the  rains  a  soft  cool  mist  hangs  on  the  hillsides  and 
clings  to  one's  garments,  and  even  creeps  into  the 
rooms  of  Murumatsu's  hotel,  where  we  are  staying. 

H could  not   leave  Tokyo  at   once,  so  I  came  on 

first  with  a  friend;  and  a  rather  adventurous  time  we 
two  women  had  of  it  before  we  reached  this  nest  in  the 
clouds.  There  are  many  things  which  are  still  vague, 
uncatalogued  as  it  were,  in  Japan,  and  the  measure- 
ment of  distance  is  one  of  them.  You  ask  a  weary 
foot-traveller  with  a  pack  on  his  back  how  far  it  is  to 
the  next  town,  and  he  replies,  "A  long  way  —  at  least 
five  ri"  (just  about  twelve  miles).  Then  you  meet  a 
fresh,  well-set-up  youth  coming  out  of  a  tea-house, 
where  he  has  had  a  rest  and  a  meal.  "  Is  it  really  five 

21 


22  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

ri  to  Ikao  ? "  you  ask,  in  a  despairing  voice ;  and  he 
laughs  as  he  replies,  "Five  ri !  No,  indeed;  perhaps 
one  and  a  half  —  not  more!"  All  of  which  is  very 
puzzling  and  misleading  to  us  prosaic  foreigners,  who 
do  not  measure  distances  (as  of  course  they  should  be 
measured)  by  our  sensations  in  regard  to  them.  And 
so  it  happened  that  my  friend  and  I  left  Tokyo  very 
comfortably  towards  noon,  having  four  hours  of  rail- 
way journey,  and,  after  that,  four  hours  (as  we  were 
told)  of  easy  hill-travelling,  which  would  bring  us  to 
Ikao  in  time  for  sunset  clouds,  dinner,  and  twilight  on 
the  verandah  and  a  full  moon  afterwards.  The  rail- 
way journey  was  new  to  me,  for  I  have  never  travelled 
on  this  northern  line  before.  The  carriages  are  much 
more  comfortable  than  those  on  the  other  lines,  and 
by  a  kind  attention  of  the  English  superintendent  we 
found  a  charming  little  tea-table  laid  out  in  the  car- 
riage, and  amused  ourselves  with  making  tea  at  least 
three  times  in  the  course  of  the  short  journey.  The 
scenery  is  rather  flat  until  Mayebashi  is  reached ;  but 
everything  was  still  in  its  summer  freshness,  the  little 
stations  along  the  line  are  pictures  of  neatness,  and 
at  each  one  there  is  always  a  group  of  peasants  and 
children  and  coolies,  leaning  over  the  great  gates 
and  gazing  at  the  amazing  toy,  which  seems  to  be  no 
less  interesting  to  them  now  than  when  it  first  ploughed 
its  smoky  way  past  their  quiet  villages. 

At  Mayebashi  we  left  the  train,  and  took  refuge 
from  the  blazing  heat  in  a  cool  tea-house,  where  we 
lingered  willingly  while  Ogita,  who  had  been  sent  on 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  23 

by  an  earlier  train,  organised  the  usual  procession  of 
jinrikshas  and  chair-coolies ;  these  last  took  a  great 
deal  of  finding  and  bribing,  as  chairs  are  quite  un- 
known in  this  part  of  the  world.  My  chair  had  come 
on  in  Ogita's  train;  but  before  I  had  been  in  it  ten 
minutes,  I  regretted  that  I  had  not  chosen  the  humble 
jinriksha  instead,  for  the  men  had,  of  course,  not  learnt 
to  keep  step,  and  changed  shoulder  to  the  poles  every 
few  minutes,  so  that  I  felt  somewhat  as  Mazeppa  might 
have  done  between  the  four  wild  horses.  I  noticed 
O'Matsu  and  Ogita  having  a  rather  serious  talk  with 
the  innkeeper,  and  found  afterwards  that  they  had 
been  making  inquiries  as  to  the  distance  to  Ikao, 
neither  of  them  having  been  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try before.  The  answers  had  been  disconcerting,  and 
they  concluded  that  the  innkeeper  was  dishonestly  ex- 
aggerating the  length  of  the  journey  so  as  to  keep  us 
at  Mayebashi  for  the  night,  so  they  decided  that 
nothing  need  be  said  to  me  on  the  matter.  So  we 
started  off,  by  white  dusty  roads  across  the  burning 
plain ;  the  day  wore  on  and  on,  and  the  Ikao  Moun- 
tains looked  as  far  off  as  ever.  We  were  very  tired, 
and  also  hungry,  for  by  some  mistake  Ogita  had 
allowed  the  luncheon-basket  to  be  sent  on  in  the  morn- 
ing with  the  heavy  luggage,  and  we  could  get  nothing 
but  Japanese  tea  and  peppermint  cakes  at  the  tea- 
houses on  the  road. 

At  last,  to  our  intense  relief,  a  light  rain  began  to 
fall ;  but  before  we  had  ceased  to  be  thankful  for  it,  it 
became  a  deluge.  Then  the  night  fell  unmistakably,  and 


24  LETTEES   FKOM 

at  last  we  pulled  up  at  a  chaya,  whose  yellow  lanterns 
and  leaping  fire  stood  out  pleasantly  against  the  black- 
ness of  the  great  hills  looming  up  behind  it.  The  men 
were  spent,  and  we  and  they  quite  drenched ;  so  we 
stopped  for  a  short  rest*.  The  poor  coolies  pulled  off 
their  straw  sandals,  caked  with  mud,  and  threw  them 


away ;  then  crept  round  the  big  fire  blazing  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  inn,  the  open  kitchen  where  travellers  of  the 
lower  class  are  welcome  to  rest  and  warm  themselves. 
The  nesan  (or  elder  sister,  as  they  call  the  maid)  brought 
them  steaming  bowls  of  macaroni,  of  which  we  also 
would  gladly  have  eaten  but  for  the  impossible  flavouring 
of  daikon  which  seemed  to  accompany  it.  Daikon  is  a 
giant  horse-radish,  having  a  naturally  rank  and  corrupt 
odour ;  this  the  Japanese  improve  upon  by  various 
methods  of  pickling  and  long  keeping,  till,  when  it  is 


LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN  25 

ready  for  use,  it  is  so  pungent  and  horrible  that,  as 
somebody  observed  of  Limburger  cheese,  it  might  be 
employed  as  a  danger  signal  at  sea.  I  once  (perhaps 
rather  unkindly)  asked  a  Japanese  gentleman  how  his 
people  could  enjoy  such  horrors ;  and  he  replied,  "  It  is 
our  Stilton  cheese,  you  see ! "  The  truth  is,  that  the 
staples  of  food  here  —  rice,  macaroni,  and  a  kind  of 
pulse  —  are  all  quite  tasteless,  and  must  also  be  eaten 
in  great  quantities  to  sustain  existence ;  so  a  strong 
cheap  pickle  is  an  absolute  necessity  to  the  masses. 

Perhaps  the  daikon  spurred  me  on.  It  seemed  too 
all-pervading  to  escape  from  inside  the  house ;  and 
when  Ogita,  with  a  very  long  face,  came  to  tell  me 
that,  according  to  local  authorities,  it  would  take  us 
three  hours  of  night-travelling  through  the  pouring  rain 
to  reach  Ikao,  I  decided  to  face  that  rather  than  remain 
where  we  were,  without  baggage  or  European  food  of 
any  kind,  and  —  with  the  daikon.  So,  slowly  and 
unwillingly,  we  set  off,  hoping  against  hope  that  there 
might  be  some  mistake  about  the  distance.  As  we 
climbed  into  the  hills,  the  darkness  was  so  thick  that 
often  only  the  wet  gleam  of  the  coolies'  lanterns  showed 
me  where  my  companions  were.  I  had  by  this  time 
taken  to  a  jinriksha  for  the  more  speed;  and  the  last 
glimpse  I  had  of  my  chair  showed  it  to  me  standing 
out  in  the  village  street,  while  one  of  the  coolies,  hav- 
ing got  into  it,  was  trying  to  copy  my  usual  attitude, 
leaning  back  with  a  hand  on  either  arm,  and  to  smoke 
a  pipe  at  the  same  time.  He  must  have  been  dread- 
fully uncomfortable,  for  the  rain  was  coming  down  on 


26  LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAX 

him  in  sheets ;  but  he  evidently  felt  quite  repaid  for 
that  by  sitting  in  the  seat  of  honour  which  had  sat 
so  heavily  on  his  shoulders  all  day. 

We  had  a  very  weird  night  ride,  through  the  mist 
and  rain,  over  solitary  moors,  where  we  could  only  see 
a  few  yards  of  the  track  at  a  time.  The  men  came 
along  bravely,  never  grumbling  at  the  awful  state  of 
the  path  —  one  cannot  call  it  a  road  —  and  even  mak- 
ing little  jokes  at  the  worst  places.  The  cheery  daunt- 
lessness  of  these  poor  fellows  makes  one  feel  ashamed 
of  growling  over  any  of  our  much  more  bearable  dis- 
comforts. But  I  was  too  much  interested  in  the  queer 
experience  to  feel  the  fatigue  or  even  the  chill  of  the 
night  rain ;  there  was  just  enough  light  to  show 
enormous  sweeps  of  rain-swept  mountains,  deep  valleys 
full  of  white  cloud  armies  that  rose  like  awakened 
ghosts  and  crept  up  the  hill  behind  us,  pushing  us  on 
into  the  darkness  beyond.  Suddenly,  in  a  lull  of  the 
rain,  I  saw  a  great  white  star  moving  slowly  down 
towards  me  out  of  the  sky.  Only  when  it  floated  close 
to  my  eyes  did  I  discover  that  it  was  the  very  patri- 
arch of  all  the  fireflies,  though  what  he  was  doing 
abroad  on  such  a  night  I  cannot  imagine.  Now  and 
then  the  men  would  stop  to  rest,  and  draw  all  our  jin- 
rikshas  together  against  a  bank,  where  the  lanterns 
hung  on  the  shafts  made  a  faint  circle  of  light  in  the 
ghostly  air,  and  showed  visibly  the  hopeless  wetness 
of  all  near  objects.  The  coolies  would  get  to  the  lee 
of  our  little  wooden  carriages,  and  try  to  light  a  pipe ; 
and  the  whiff  of  their  coarse  tobacco  floated  comfortingly 


LETTERS  Fll(XM  JAPAN 


27 


for  a  moment  through  the  mist.  Then  they  would  start 
off  again;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  first  ones  in  the 
long  line  loomed  huge  and  threatening  on  a  rise  before 
us  against  a  pale  patch  of  sky,  behind  which  the  full 
moon  should  have  been  shining. 

At  last  we  saw  lights  in  the  distance,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  a  whole  tribe  of  little  gnomes,  carrying  big 
round  lanterns  and  huge 
oil-paper  umbrellas,  were 
bowing  and  bobbing  beside 
us,  and  saying,  "Muru- 
matsu,  Murumatsu,"  over 
and  over  again,  to  show 
that  they  came  from  the 
hotel.  One  last  effort  of 
our  poor  coolies  dragged 
us  up  through  an  avenue 
of  dripping  firs,  so  steep 
that  the  trees  might  have 
been  growing  up  the  side 
of  a  house ;  and  then  we 
stopped  for  good  under  a  hospitable  porch  full  of  red 
lanterns  and  smiling  faces.  Slowly  we  unpacked  our 
drenched  coverings,  and  crawled  out,  stiff  and  sore,  and 
mighty  glad  to  be  under  shelter  at  last.  Oh  the  com- 
fort of  the  sweet-smelling  matted  rooms,  with  their 
closed  shutters,  against  which  the  rain  beat  in  vain ! 
In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  our  good  Ogita 
and  the  servants  had  dry  things  unpacked,  the  wet 
wraps  carried  away,  a  pretty  dinner-table  laid  out, 


JIOON    AND    LANTERN 


28  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

with  a  bright  lamp  and  fresh  flowers  to  cheer  us, 
and  food  and  wine  to  make  us  forget  the  long  hun- 
gry day.  I  felt  rather  like  the  forlorn  little  girl  in 
the  fairy  tale,  when  the  black  hillside  opened  and  the 
kind  gnomes  took  care  of  her  in  their  warm  earth-home. 
The  view  from  those  particular  rooms  is  rather  a 
celebrated  one;  so  I  rose  and  looked  out  the  next 
morning  as  soon  as  the  maid  had  crept  round  the 
balconies  to  remove  the  amados,  the  friendly  outer 
shutters,  which  had  kept  out  the  rain  of  the  night. 
Alas !  it  was  the  rain  of  the  morning  too ;  and  the  wide 
valley  below  us  and  the  great  mountains  of  Nikko  be- 
yond were  only  visible  in  shadowy  gradations  through 
the  wet  grey  veil  of  rain.  Not  for  this  were  they  less 
beautiful ;  for  the  very  greyness  gives  the  outlines  more 
grandeur,  and  the  moving  film  of  rain,  now  lighter, 
now  heavier,  now  falling  straight  and  sharp,  now  driven 
slanting  up  the  valleys  by  a  rush  of  the  breeze,  imparts 
a  constant  play  of  expression  to  the  tear-stained  face 
of  Nature  which  it  can  never  wear  in  the  equalising 
gold  of  the  sunshine.  And  when  the  worst  is  over, 
and  the  rain  is  sucked  up  into  that  wonderful  mist 
of  Japan,  which  makes  and  unmakes  a  hundred  sky- 
pictures  in  an  hour,  each  more  weird  and  ethereal 
than  the  last,  then  one  cannot  quarrel  with  the  rain. 
As  I  stand  on  the  covered  balcony,  and  smell  the  dear 
wetness  of  the  earth  and  catch  a  stray  drop  on  my 
cheek,  my  mind  goes  back  to  the  thirsty  lands  of 
earth,  —  to  our  Roman  carnpagna,  burnt  purple-brown 
in  August,  and  too  scorching  to  touch  with  the  bare 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  29 

hand ;  to  Chile,  where  every  tree  is  sere  by  midsummer, 
and  the  gasping  country  is  buried  in  its  own  dust  before 
its  ten  months'  drought  is  quenched  in  icy  rain;  to 
that  "  land  of  sand  and  ruin  and  gold,"  Pechili,  where 
a  child  may  be  a  year  old  before  the  rain  has  chris- 
tened it ;  where  I  used  to  go  and  sit  on  the  baked  hill- 
side by  our  temple  home  and  look  across  the  quivering 
plain  to  Peking  and — down  into  the  face  of  an  English 
baby  dying  of  the  heat.  And  I  remember  there  came 
a  day  when  I  said  to  its  mother,  "  Take  courage ;  if  it 
only  rains  to-night,  he  will  live!  Surely  that  is  a  cloud 
in  the  south!"  And  the  rain  came  that  night,  and  the 
little  one  lived  —  to  die  of  another  year's  heat.  Ah, 
dear  rain,  it  is  not  I  that  will  be  quarrelling  with  you 
this  day !  In  the  outer  life,  thank  God  for  the  kindly 
showers  that  temper  the  breeze  of  the  sunshine ;  in 
the  inner,  thank  Him  still  more  for  the  grey  clouds 
of  anxiety  and  the  wholesome  tears  of  pain,  which  keep 
us  from  being  burnt  dry  and  hard  in  the  noonday  of 
our  prosperity. 

And  as  I  finished  these  reflections  my  friend  came 
and  stood  by  my  side,  and  said,  "  Come,  it  is  lighter 
now;  let  us  go  and  have  a  look  at  things."  Then  we 
went  out  into  the  queer  terraced  town,  clinging  so 
closely  to  the  wall  of  the  hill  that  the  main-street  is  a 
staircase,  and  a  steep  one  too.  From  it  the  side-streets 
branch  off,  herringbone-wise,  full  of  little  inns  where 
the  bathers  stay;  for  Ikao  has  hot  springs  (115°  F.), 
which  have  been  used  for  the  cure  of  many  diseases 
since  very  early  times,  and  which  still  attract  great 


30  LETTEES   FKOM  JAPAN 

numbers  of  Japanese  to  the  place.  The  town  is  built 
around  and  over  the  springs,  which  seem  to  bubble  up 
so  freely  in  this  volcanic  land,  sometimes  hot  and  strong, 
sometimes  weak  and  tepid,  but  everywhere  within  the 
reach  of  the  sick  poor,  who  are  able  for  very  small  sums 
to  get  cures  which  in  Europe  are  costly  in  the  extreme. 
Here,  some  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  sea- 
level,  the  hot  jets  burst  out  of  the  green  mountain- 
side, and  the  little  town  has  had  to  accommodate  itself 
to  them.  The  long  street  of  stairs,  full  of  quaint  shops 
and  fluttering  signs,  ends  in  a  tall  shaft  of  still  steeper 
steps  above  the  town ;  and  these  are  crowned  by  a  little 
temple,  with  stone  benches  before  it,  where  one  can  sit 
and  gaze  at  the  enormous  hills  across  the  sweep  of  the 
upland  valley.  The  temple  has  stone  lanterns,  which 
are  votive  offerings,  and  many  fluttering  banners,  which 
are  also  offerings,  though  of  a  more  perishable  kind. 
At  the  foot  of  its  grey  steps  is  a  little  terrace,  which 
is  all  one  iris  garden  in  full  bloom;  the  sun  suddenly 
shone  down  on  it  as  I  looked,  and  a  hundred  flowers, 
white  and  blue  and  royal  purple,  shook  out  flags  in 
the  mountain  breeze  which  came  fresh  and  sweet 
round  the  spur  of  the  hill  from  the  woods  beyond. 

The  breeze  seemed  to  be  showing  us  the  way;  so 
when  we  had  rested  a  little,  we  left  the  temple,  and 
followed  a  road  leading  towards  a  deep  ravine  on  the 
right.  Here  a  noisy  river  tears  down  over  boulders 
the  colour  of  rust,  for  the  water  is  rich  in  iron,  and 
coats  everything  exposed  to  it  with  a  heavy  yellow 
layer;  but  the  level  walk  on  the  side  of  the  ravine  is 


WASHING    THE    HANDS    BEFORE    PRAYING    IN   THE    TEMPLE 


LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN  33 

so  thickly  wooded  that  the  stream  is  hidden  half  the 
time,  and  only  its  everlasting  song  comes  up  to  say  it 
is  there.  Slowly  we  went  on  into  the  green  heart  of 
the  hills,  the  path  overhung  by  deepest  woods  above, 
and  below,  plunging  down  in  sudden  precipices  to 
where  the  torrent  literally  boils  over  the  yellow  stones 
with  clouds  of  steam  and  hot  spray,  and  rushes  on  to 
turn  a  huge  mill-wheel  in  the  gorge,  just  as  any  com- 
mon cold  stream  could  do !  But  up  on  the  path  all  is 
solitude  and  quiet,  and  it  seems  quite  fitting  to  come 
unawares  on  a  little  shrine  with  a  smiling  Buddha 
sitting  on  his  mat,  amid  countless  offerings  of  cups  and 
vases,  and  smaller  Buddhas  to  keep  him  company.  But 
Buddha  took  my  breath  away  by  smiling  benignantly 
right  into  my  eyes,  and  rocking  forward  on  his  base  in 
friendly  salutation.  Then  I  saw  that  the  shrine  is  only 
a  little  china  shop,  as  clean  and  silent  as  the  heart  of 
a  flower,  and  apparently  about  as  distantly  connected 
with  money-making;  for  without  even  moving  from* 
his  place,  Buddha  let  me  carry  off  an  exquisite  blue 
cup,  for  which  he  received  seven  cents,  and  seemed 
as  satisfied  as  if  I  had  spent  seven  pounds  at  his  dainty 
shrine.  Beyond  him  the  road  became  suddenly  steeper, 
and  we  stood  for  a  moment  gazing  up  its  green 
murmuring  arches,  broken  where  a  glorious  white 
hydrangea  hung  out  a  dancing  tent  of  blossom  over 
the  sun-flecked  path. 

At  the  end  of  the  path  is  an  inn,  with  baths  and 
many  patients;  and  one  can  buy  strange  specimens  of 
petrified  woods,  and  stone  cups  beautifully  polished. 


34  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

Here  there  is  a  beautiful  network  of  bamboo  pipes, 
supported  on  tree  branches  or  wistaria  roots,  or  any- 
thing else  that  comes  handy ;  and  they  run  all  the 
way  down  the  valley  to  supply  the  different  hotels 
with  the  mineral  water ;  and  in  the  stream  itself  lie 
strips  of  cotton,  which  are  left  there  until  they  Lave 
absorbed  enough  iron  to  turn  them  yellow,  and  are 
then  used  as  strength-giving  belts,  much  prized  by  the 
people. 

On  our  return  I  think  we  must  have  entered  every 
shop  on  the  way.  In  one  we  bought  whole  pieces  of 
Ikao  cotton  crape,  a  rough  heavy  fabric,  with  a  bril- 
liant reddish-yellow  ground,  exactly  the  colour  of  the 
iron-coated  stones  in  the  stream  where  the  sun  touches 
them;  and  the  maker  had  the  stream  in  his  mind,  I 
know,  for  up  the  lengths  of  yellow  crape  against  the 
stream  swim  hundreds  of  vigorous  carp,  the  symbol  of 
persevering  fortitude,  amid  waves  and  clouds  dashed 
on  in  the  sharp  white  and  blue  of  a  winter  morning. 
The  whole  mass  takes  one's  breath  away  with  its 
rattling  bravura  of  colour,  and  the  eye  rests  gratefully 
on  a  pile  of  grey-green  basket-work,  made  out  of 
wistaria  tendrils,  the  very  tint  of  the  twilight  woods 
imprisoned  in  the  meshes.  Then  there  is  pottery  of 
every  kind,  for  every  use,  but  almost  uniform  in  colour 
—  the  colour  of  Ikao,  the  colour  of  rust  in  the  sun. 
There  is  a  delight  which  I  cannot  name  in  finding 
these  subtle  harmonies,  taken  for  granted  by  these 
people  who  are  still  close  to  the  knee  of  Nature,  but 
only  touched  by  chance  among  us,  who  have  forgotten 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  37 

our  nursery  lessons  in  the  dreary  board-school  of  life. 
I  see  that  in  Japanese  eyes  I  am  a  barbarian  even  in 
my  buyings ;  for  I  take  a  dozen  things  which  have 
nought  to  do  with  each  other,  and  Ogita  and  O'Matsu 
look  gravely  disapproving  when  the  fairings  are  all 
tumbled  out  together  on  the  mats  of  my  little  sitting- 
room. 

There  is  another  walk  in  Ikao,  and  this  one  goes 
down  instead  of  up  the  hill,  and  is  quite  full  of  excite- 
ments. As  we  turned  down  it,  I  saw  a  quaint  group. 
A  small  child  was  standing  stock  still  in  the  middle 
of  the  road,  with  her  back  towards  us ;  her  hair, 
shaven  away  in  a  neat  tonsure  on  the  top  of  her 
head,  fell  from  there  in  a  straight  black  curtain  to  her 
shoulders;  her  fat  little  body  was  wrapped  in  a  pale- 
blue  kimono;  and  in  one  hand  she  carried  a  teapot, 
pale  blue  also,  and  swinging  by  its  wicker  handle. 
Evidently  she  had  been  sent  to  fetch  sake*  or  hot 
water;  but  her  little  bare  feet  seemed  rooted  to  the 
ground,  and  she  was  gazing  with  silent  terror  into  the 
face  of  a  terrible  beast  who  had  set  himself  down 
directly  in  front  of  her.  The  beast  was  a  yellow 
mongrel  (Ikao  colour,  of  course),  who,  by  cocking  his 
ears  and  stretching  his  fore-legs  out  as  long  as  possible, 
had  brought  his  head  just  to  the  level  of  the  little 
maid's,  and  was  looking  at  her  with  an  expression 
which  said  far  more  clearly  than  words:  "Yes,  my 
dear,  I  am  a  very  terrible  dog,  and  all  this  road  belongs 
to  me,  and  you  have  no  business  here  whatever;  but 
perhaps  I  won't  eat  you  quite  up  this  time  —  oh !  oh ! 


38  LETTERS  FEOM  JAPAN 

who  are  these  awful  creatures  ? "  One  sight  of  us  was 
enough ;  with  a  long  howl,  the  terrible  dog  fled  down 
the  street,  and  the  little  girl  clutched  her  teapot,  and 
shrank  to  one  side  as  far  as  the  road  would  allow,  and 
looked  up  at  us  pitifully,  as  if  she  would  say :  "  You 
see,  the  dog  didn't  eat  me;  I  hope  you  won't,  either!" 

So  we  went  on  quickly  to  set  her  mind  at  rest,  and 
came  on  a  still  funnier  sight.  A  little  bath-house,  with 
no  door,  close  to  the  road,  was  sending  out  fumes  of 
steam  mixed  with  talk ;  inside,  in  a  space  not  more 
than  a  yard  square,  three  dames  of  the  village,  with 
only  their  heads  above  water,  were  having  a  good 
gossip.  On  the  edge,  among  the  discarded  clothing, 
lay  a  baby,  trying  hard  to  wriggle  into  the  water  too. 
Of  course  all  the  heads  turned  to  have  a  look  at  us ; 
two  of  the  ladies  hopped  out  of  the  water  like  frogs, 
and  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  bath  discussing  our  appear- 
ance, absolutely  untroubled  by  their  own,  and  then 
hopped  in  again  for  another  dip.  I  saw  one  of  them 
walking  home  later,  with  most  of  her  clothes  under  one 
arm  and  the  baby  on  the  other.  There  is  so  much 
desinvoltura  about  Japanese  manners  ! 

Farther  on  we  came  to  a  bow-and-arrow  booth, 
where  the  owner  was  very  anxious  that  we  should 
have  a  shot  at  the  painted  target ;  but  we  were  much 
more  interested  in  a  queer  grey  monkey,  tailless  as  a 
Japanese  cat,  who  was  jumping  about  as  far  as  his 
tether  would  let  him,  against  grey-green  rocks  the  very 
colour  of  himself.  He  too  saw  that  we  were  foreign 
monsters  of  some  kind,  and  showed  off  all  his  tricks 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  39 

and  then  flashed  his  fiery  red  face  and  human  eyes 
round  at  us  to  see  if  we  had  been  impressed  by  them, 
and  he  was  visibly  chagrined  when  we  moved  on.  At 
the  foot  of  the  hill  lives  a  knotty  little  old  man,  who 
looks  as  if  he  had  been  made  out  of  dried  twigs.  His 
hair  stands  up  in  bristles  all  over  his  head,  his  eyes 
dance  with  good  humour,  and  at  every  word  he  says, 
whether  he  means  it  or  not,  down  goes  his  head  to 
his  poor  old  knees  in  the  most  engaging  bow.  This 
is  because  he  keeps  a  tea-house  with  two  splendid  fish- 
ponds ;  and  his  business  is  to  come  out  into  the  road 
and  stop  the  travellers,  and  beg  them  to  come  into  his 
"  dirty  house,"  as  he  humbly  puts  it,  for  a  little  tea 
and  some  good  fishing;  and  that  is  why  he  has  got 
into  such  a  habit  of  bowing  that  he  could  not  stop  if 
he  would.  There  is  a  little  old  woman  too ;  but  she 
sits  inside  on  the  mats,  and  invitingly  pushes  cushions 
and  trays  of  tea  towards  you,  if  you  will  only  come 
near  enough.  I  suppose  she  had  legs  once,  but  she 
must  have  sat  them  off  by  this  time,  for  she  never  gets 
up,  and  there  are  no  particular  signs  of  them  anywhere. 
The  ponds  are  too  delightful  to  be  passed  by.  There 
are  neat  benches  and  planked  footways  beside  them ; 
and  by  one  you  can  sit,  and  catch  gold  and  silver 
fish,  like  any  princess  in  a  fairy  tale,  for  a  few  cents 
an  hour;  by  the  other  you  may  also  sit,  and  watch 
how  the  great  fat  old  goldfish,  almost  as  big  as  carp, 
come  and  fight  for  the  cakes  that  are  thrown  in,  how 
they  shove  out  the  younger  ones,  and  kick  and  splash 
and  struggle  till  the  water  is  all  churned  up  and  the 


40 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


biscuit  they  are  fighting  for  is  thrown  high  and  dry 
on  the  bank.  Then  the  fish  go  off  in  a  rage,  and  the 
little  old  man  laughs  indulgently,  and  creeps  warily 
down  the  bank  and  throws  the  pink  biscuit  out  to  sea, 
and  the  comedy  begins  all  over  again.  We  were  not 
the  only  guests  at  the  inn  of  the  gold  and  silver  fish ; 
on  the  bench  by  the  pond  sat  a  middle-aged  Japanese, 
in  European  dress.  He  was  gravely  catching  goldfish 
with  a  thread  and  a  bit  of  bamboo ;  he  looked  in- 
tensely solemn,  and  frowned  visibly  when  we  laughed 
and  chattered  on  the  other  side  of  the  pond ;  and  he 
dropped  the  "  take "  with  great  care  into  his  best  top 
hat,  turned  upside  down  for  the  purpose. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

FKOM  IKAO  TO  KARUIZAWA.  —  THE  SILK  HARVEST.  —  A 
REST  AT  IIZUKA.  —  CLIMBING  UP  THE  PASS.  —  A  SEA 
OF  PEAKS.  —  THE  PALACE  OF  PEACE.  —  OUR  OWN 
POLICEMAN 

KARUIZAWA,  July,  1890. 

"TTTE  left  Ikao  rather  regretfully,  and,  mindful  of 
past  experiences,  very  early  in  the  morning. 
The  road,  all  shining  in  the  early  sunshine,  did  not 
seem  to  be  the  same  one  up  which  we  had  toiled  in  rain 
and  darkness  two  weeks  ago.  The  valleys  were  green 
and  wet  below  us,  and  the  hills  beyond  towered  against 
a  brilliantly  blue  sky  just  flecked  with  little  clouds  of 
dazzling  white.  The  banks  of  the  road  were  beautiful 
with  blue  lilies,  and  the  air  was  full  of  song-birds.  The 
Japanese  are  early  risers,  and  all  the  little  cottage  homes 
were  open  to  the  day ;  in  almost  all,  the  business  of 
silk-spinning  was  going  forward,  for  this  is  the  time 
when  the  cocoons  are  ripe,  and  the  precious  threads 
must  be  saved  ere  the  moth  feels  his  wings  and  bites 
his  way  through  to  freedom. 

It  is  a  pretty  sight,  when  the  little  brown  cottages 
are  full  of  piles  of  the  delicate  cocoons,  light  as  puff- 
balls,  and  generally  a  snowy  white,  or  soft  flaxen  colour, 
but  mingled  here  and  there  with  large  cocoons  of  a  pale 

41 


42 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


yellowish  green,  the  production  of  a  silkworm  who  lives 
on  a  certain  species  of  wild  oak.  As  far  as  I  could 
gather,  these  cocoons  are  collected  in  the  woods,  and 
the  worm,  if  reared  in  captivity,  takes  to  mulberry 
leaves,  and  becomes  small  and  tame  like  any  other 
silkworm.  But  this  may  be  only  a  peasant  tradition. 
The  silk  reeled  from  these  greenish  cocoons  is  of  a 


SILK    REELING 


coarse  and  heavy  kind,  and  cannot  be  used  with  other 
varieties.  The  work  of  reeling  off  the  thread  seems  to 
be  done  in  this  part  of  the  world  by  old  people,  who 
can  no  longer  do  rough  work  in  the  fields.  I  passed 
one  cottage  after  another  where  an  old  man  or  woman, 
sometimes  an  aged  couple,  sat  on  the  ground  among 
piles  of  the  soft  white  balls,  reeling  off  the  silk  on  the 
roughest  kind  of  hand-wheel,  to  which  it  passes  from 
a  little  trough  filled  with  hot  water,  constantly  renewed. 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  43 

The  knotty  old  fingers  manipulate  the  strands  very  deli- 
cately ;  but  the  reeled  thread  is  full  of  knots  and  in- 
equalities, and  could  only,  I  should  think,  be  used  for 
inferior  silks.  Even  in  that  form  it  is  valuable,  and 
the  old  people's  little  crop  will  probably  go  far  towards 
maintaining  them  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 

As  we  descended  into  the  plain,  the  cottages  were 
scattered  more  thickly  along  the  road,  and  we  passed 
through  village  streets  where  every  house  was  full  of 
cocoon  piles,  making  the  effect  of  snowdrifts  swept 
back  from  the  road  into  the  houses.  We  were  making 
for  lizuka,  a  station  a  little  farther  up  the  line  than 
Takaski,  from  which  we  could  do  an  hour  or  so  of 
railway-travelling  in  the  direction  of  Karuizawa  before 
taking  to  chairs  and  jinrikshas  again.  We  had  found 
some  firstrate  chair-coolies  in  Ikao,  and  they  carried 
me  down  the  hilly  roads  at  a  swinging  trot,  and  with 
none  of  the  misery  which  had  attended  the  upward 
journey.  .But  the  heat  was  intense  as  soon  as  we 
reached  the  plain,  and  no  words  can  describe  how 
grateful  and  refreshing  was  the  hospitality  of  the 
pretty  tea-house  at  lizuka,  where  we  had  an  hour's  rest 
before  our  train  could  pass.  The  little  upper  rooms, 
cool,  matted,  open  on  every  side  to  the  air  under  the 
wide  verandah  roof,  seemed  luxuriously  spacious  and 
quiet ;  from  the  eaves  hung  fern-wreaths  grown  in 
quaint  shapes  on  wistaria  roots,  each  one  having  a 
small  glass  bell  fastened  to  it,  and  a  bit  of  paper  with 
a  word  or  two  of  poetry  dangling  from  the  bell.  The 
lightest  puff  of  breeze  sets  the  paper  moving,  and  then 


44  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

the  bell  speaks  in  a  little  musical  tinkle  like  the  sound 
of  running  water.  Our  hostess  brought  up  a  fairy  meal 
of  strawberries  and  scraped  ice  and  lemonade;  and 
O'Matsu  brought  a  fan,  and  kept  the  air  cool  while  we 
tasted  it.  By  the  time  the  train  steamed  up,  we  had 
forgotten  the  heat  and  weariness  of  the  morning,  and 
started  out  refreshed  for  the  second  part  of  our  journey. 
This  stage  brought  us  as  far  as  Yokukawa,  a  town  nest- 
ling close  in  at  the  foot  of  the  Usui  Pass,  which  leads 
up  into  the  great  dividing  range,  the  central  Alps  of 
Japan. 

Yokukawa  is  demoralised  by  the  railway  and  tram 
traffic,  and  has  very  little  that  is  picturesque  about  it. 
The  railway  stops  here,1  and  the  traveller  is  carried  on 
into  the  hills  by  a  crazy  tram  service,  composed  of  tiny 
carriages  drawn  by  broken-down  horses,  up  a  road  which 
is  washed  away  by  rain  or  whelmed  in  landslips  at  least 
once  a  week.  When  the  cars  are  not  thrown  off  the 
line,  they  jump  about  so  alarmingly  that  the  unfortu- 
nate passengers  are  black  and  blue  by  the  time  they 
reach  Karuizawa;  altogether,  the  journey  was  consid- 
ered too  sensational  for  me,  and  the  Ikao  coolies  had 
been  brought  on  to  carry  me  up  the  pass.  Some  of 
the  party  were  in  jinrikshas,  which  can  follow  the 
tramway  line ;  but  for  me  there  was  the  delightful 
luxury  of  a  long  chair  ride  through  shady  paths  up 
wooded  steeps,  where  the  tendrils  of  the  creepers 
brushed  my  face,  and  the  delicate  woodsy  smell  of 

1  The  railway  is  now  (1898)  completed,  and  connects  Yokukawa  with 
Shin-Karuizawa. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  45 

fern  and  pine,  wistaria  and  hydrangea,  came  in  waves 
out  of  the  solemn  greennesses  of  the  forest.  Now  and 
then  we  stopped,  that  the  men  might  rest  at  one  of 
those  tiny  brown  dwellings  scattered  like  empty  chest- 
nut burrs  along  the  path;  always  planted  near  a  stream 
or  a  trickling  waterfall,  with  perhaps  the  virgin  rock 
for  a  background,  they  consist  of  one  tiny  room  open 
to  the  woods,  with  a  bench  for  the  pilgrim  to  rest  on, 
a  low-burning  fire  to  make  his  tea  over,  and  a  few 
scrupulously  clean  blue  cups  and  bowls  to  serve  it  in. 
And  how  refreshing  the  Japanese  tea  is !  One  of  our 
party  had  followed  me  on  foot,  and  was  glad  enough 
of  the  pale  gold-coloured  liquid  steaming  in  its  tiny 
cups.  It  quenches  thirst  far  better  than  any  of  our 
luxurious  iced  drinks,  and  gives  just  the  amount  of 
nerve  stimulant  needed  during  long  walks  in  the  heat. 
The  perfume  is  faint  and  fine,  and  has  become  so  con- 
nected with  our  roamings  in  Japan  that,  no  matter  how 
many  year*  had  passed,  it  would  instantly  bring  back 
to  me  the  house  in  the  forest  or  by  the  roadside,  the 
kind  brown  faces,  the  balmy  air,  the  luminous  white- 
ness of  the  Eastern  day. 

The  woods  were  left  behind  at  last,  and  from  then- 
cloistered  depths  we  came  out  on  the  ridges  where  not 
a  landscape  but  a  universe  seemed  to  sink  away  from 
below  our  feet,  in  a  wash  of  warm  silver  and  green 
gold,  filmed  with  a  network  of  rivers  that  flowed  on 
from  our  mountains,  in  ribbons  of  level  light,  towards 
the  hazy  glories  of  the  plain.  One  knew  not  which 
way  to  look ;  that  one  supreme  moment  of  a  summer 


46  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

day  had  come,  when  every  tint  is  purified  to  a  jewel- 
like  perfection,  every  dell  is  mantled  in  living  velvet, 
every  rock  leaps  into  amethyst  flame,  every  pool  is  a 
piece  of  heaven,  and  the  sunshine  is  over  all,  a  swim- 
ming haze  of  gold,  tender  and  radiant  and  warm  as  the 
very  tears  of  happiness. 

I  cannot  name  the  sea  of  peaks  which  rose  behind 
and  before  us.  As  the  summer  goes  on,  they  will  become 
individually  familiar  tome,  no  doubt;  but  on  this  first 
day  their  greatness  and  their  multiplicity  were  too  over- 
whelming for  me  to  even  ask  their  names.  Thousands 
of  feet  above  the  dreaming  plain,  arrested  in  the  cisterns 
of  the  hills,  a  sea  of  wildly  tossing  breakers,  the  white 
horses  of  the  hurricane  must  have  been  caught  and 
changed  to  stone  at  the  stormiest  moment  of  their 
splendid  play.  Empty  as  the  ocean  hollows,  barren  as 
the  breaker's  crest,  sharp-edged  as  the  north  wind's 
bite  —  ah !  what  can  ever  put  before  you  all  that  I  saw 
that  day,  as  I  stood  on  the  mountain's  ridge  between 
heaven  and  earth,  watching  the  fires  of  the  sunset  kiss 
the  cold  crags  they  could  never  warm  to  life  ? 

We  dared  not  linger  long,  for  the  night  would  fall 
chill  in  the  hills  after  such  a  burning  day.  We  let  our 
men  rest  for  a  little  in  the  inn  of  the  village  which 
crowns  the  Usui  Toge,  a  poor  grey  village,  with  a 
temple  to  keep  watch  over  the  pilgrims  who  pass 
through  it  in  the  summer-time.  There  are  broad  stone 
steps  to  the  temple,  and  from  there  the  view  is  glori- 
ous ;  if  the  contemplation  of  beauty  conduces  to  holi- 
ness, then  its  priest  should  be  a  very  holy  man.  His 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  47 

son,  a  lad  of  ten,  who  stood  leaning  against  the  gate, 
watching  us  with  bold  bright  eyes,  is  the  black  sheep  of 
the  village ;  and  wre  were  told  sad  stories  of  his  pranks 
by  the  innkeeper,  at  which  the  boy  laughed  defiantly. 
He  will  not  go  to  school,  and  sometimes  tears  down  the 
gohei,  or  white  prayer  papers,  which  pious  souls  hang 
up  with  straw  ropes  at  the  temple  gate ;  he  tears  his 
clothes,  and  loses  his  father's  books ;  but  the  worst  of 
all  his  sins  is  that  he  plays  practical  jokes  on  that 
sacred  person,  his  paternal  grandmother!  Once  he 
killed  her  cat ;  another  day  he  nailed  a  dead  crow  to 
the  shutters  of  her  house,  and  then  called  her  out  in 
a  hurry,  saying  that  a  beautiful  procession  was  going 
by.  Altogether  the  village  seems  to  have  little  hope 
of  the  young  reprobate,  and  agree  in  thinking  that  it  is 
"  a  sair  dispensation  for  the  meenister !  " 

From  the  top  of  the  pass  we  descended  quickly  and 
easily  for  a  little  way,  and  then  stood  for  a  few  min- 
utes to  gaze  at  Asama  Yama,  the  great  active  volcano 
which  dominates  all  this  side  of  the  hills,  and  has 
more  than  once  filled  the  upland  plain  of  KaruizawTa 
with^ashy  desolation.  It  rises  very  grandly  from  beyond 
the  green  foothills,  looking  far  nearer  than  it  really  is. 
Heavy  clouds  of  smoke  pour  from  the  crater,  which 
looks  from  Karuizawa  towards  the  south-west,  and  takes 
the  form  of  a  horizontal  tunnel  into  the  mountain,  as 
I  am  told.  From  that  point  on  the  pass  there  is  a 
wonderful  evening  effect,  as  the  sun  sinks  almost  behind 
the  peak  and  rims  its  heavy  clouds  of  smoke  with  crim- 
son and  gold.  We  lost  it  as  we  plunged  into  the  deep- 


48  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

cut  paths  below ;  and  when  at  last  we  reached  our  own 
boundaries,  the  grey  twilight  calm  was  hushing  the 
hills  to  rest. 

And  now  I  am  writing  in  the  most  lovely  study  in 
the  world.  Over  my  head  the  pine  branches  meet  in 
arches  of  kindly  green ;  the  pillars  of  my  hall  are  warm 
brown  trunks,  roughened  in  mystic  runes  by  the  sun 
and  the  wind,  and  full  of  sweet  gums  that  catch  and 
cling  to  my  hand  if  I  lay  it  against  the  bark ;  underfoot 
a  hundred  layers  of  pine  needles  have  been  weaving  a 
carpet  so  elastic  that  the  weariest  foot  must  press  it 
lightly;  and,  lest  I  should  want  for  music,  a  stream, 
deep-running  between  hedges  of  wild  clematis  and  white 
hydrangea  and  crowding  wistaria  tangle,  sings  a  cool 
tune  near  by,  while  the  hum  of  happy  insects  in  the 
air  sounds  the  high  note  of  noon,  the  hot  Eastern  noon, 
when  every  bird  is  still. 

Very,  very  early  this  morning  I  crept  to  the  veran- 
dah of  my  bedroom,  and  pushed  aside  the  amado  and 
looked  out,  down  the  green  depths  of  my  woodsy  gar- 
den, across  the  foothills  below  us  to  the  plain  beyond, 
dreaming  and  blue  still  in  the  virginal  lights  of  the 
dawn.  Near  by,  on  either  side,  the  forest  spread  from 
our  little  clearing,  up  and  up  to  the  summits  of  the 
hills  that  guard  us  on  the  left.  On  the  right  it  rolled 
more  gradually  to  the  foot  of  a  green  wall,  up  whose 
sides  some  rocky  steps  lead  to  what  must  be  a  shrine ; 
I  can  see  figures  cut  in  the  rock,  and  a  seat  below,  and 
a  green  bough  waving  far  out  from  some  crevice  above. 
All  was  still  and  silent,  as  if  just  created  and  waiting 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  49 

for  the  breath  of  life  to  be  infused  by  the  Creator. 
Then,  as  the  silence  became  too  intense  to  be  borne, 
one  liquid  rippling  note  rang  out  of  the  sleeping  woods 
in  a  burst  of  joy,  so  breathless,  so  triumphant  that  it 
might  have  come  from  the  gates  of  paradise.  When 
it  ceased,  the  clear  vibrations  still  went  ringing  up 
through  the  hills ;  and  in  a  moment  the  answer  thrilled 
back  from  the  distant  groves  below  the  lonely  shrine. 
I  do  not  know  how  long  I  stood  listening;  it  was  one 
of  those  moments  in  life  which  mark  an  epoch,  when 
time  has  no  value  and  identity  is  forgotten.  I  know 
that  all  the  other  birds  listened  as  silently  as  I  until 
my  Lord  and  Lady  Nightingale  had  finished  their 
golden  matins,  and  that  when  other  songs  broke  forth, 
and  the  sun  touched  the  hilltops  to  life,  I  turned  away 
satisfied  with  beauty,  one  more  hour  of  perfect  happi- 
ness added  to  that  rich  inheritance  of  which  no  future 
grief  or  privation  can  ever  rob  me. 

We  have  named  our  summer  home  the  Palace  of 
Peace ;  for  though  it  is  close  to  the  only  track  leading 
up  the  pass,  it  is  wrapped  in  green  seclusion.  The  vil- 
lage—  there  is  a  village  —  is  not  seen  till  you  have 
passed  out  at  the  foot  of  our  garden,  between  the  pine 
trees  that  guard  the  gate,  across  t\vo  streams  bridged 
somewhat  shakily,  and  down  a  bit  of  road  that  turns 
with  the  turning  hillside.  Then,  indeed,  a  few  houses 
are  seen;  and  if  you  go  on,  a  long  poor  street  winds 
away  before  you,  reaches  another  bridge,  and  passes 
thence  among  the  wild  flowers  of  the  plain,  which 
stretches  its  level  for  many  miles,  bordered  on  either 


50  LETTERS    FROM    JAPAN 

hand  by  beautiful  green  mountains,  itself  more  than 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The  plain  we  see 
from  our  windows ;  but  not  a  single  roof-tree  breaks 
the  enchanting  sense  of  solitude.  Our  house  is  a 
Japanese  one,  two-storied,  built  of  wood,  with  deep 
galleries  running  round  both  floors,  the  upper  one 
protected  by  wide  eaves,  and  also  by  glazed  screens  in- 
stead of  the  usual  paper  slides ;  so  that  even  in  very 
bad  weather  we  need  not  shut  out  the  light  by  closing 
the  wooden  shutters,  as  people  have  to  do  usually  in 
Japanese  houses. 

The  inner  walls  are  also  of  glass,  where  they  look 
on  the  verandah.  The  dividing  ones  between  the  rooms 
are  papered,  and  can  be  removed  at  will ;  so  that  we 
can  have  one  very  huge  apartment  or  several  small 
ones,  according  to  taste  and  fancy.  All  the  glass  walls 
have  in  then*  turn  curtains  of  heavy  mosquito  netting. 
which  fall  from  ceiling  to  floor,  with  a  slit  here  and 
there  to  allow  of  passing  through ;  and  they  both  keep 
out  the  insects,  and  ensure  a  certain  amount  of  privacy. 
There  is  just  room  for  ourselves  and  two  of  the  staff. 
they  occupying  one  verandah  and  we  the  other ;  while 
servants'  quarters  and  offices  go  meandering  back  some- 
where into  the  heart  of  the  hill,  whence  an  ingenious 
system  of  bamboo-tubing  supplies  all  the  bathrooms 
(one  to  every  room  in  the  delightfully  civilized  Eastern 
fashion),  as  well  as  the  dinner-table,  with  the  purest, 
freshest  water  I  have  ever  tasted.  It  wells  right  out 
of  the  rock,  and  the  servants  bring  the  bottles  down 
all  misty  and  impearled  with  the  coldness  of  it. 


OUR   SUMMER   HOUSE   AWAKE 


AND   ASLEEP 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


53 


- 


Of  course  all  the  rooms  are  matted,  and  a  recess 
under  the  lowest  stair  holds  our  house-slippers.  When 
we  come  in  from  a  walk,  everybody  sits  down  on  the 
outer  step  of  the  verandah,  the  servants  run  out  with 
our  clean  slippers  in  hand,  and  not  until  they  are 
donned  do  we  tread  on  the  delicate 
mats.  These  are  so  fine  and  soft  that 
I  constantly  sit  on  them  instead  of  in 
my  chair ;  and  in  warm  weather  they 
are  delightful  to  sleep  on,  cool,  resisting, 
and  yet  elastic.  There  are  chairs  of 
all  sorts  of  pretty  rustic  patterns ;  the 
whole  furniture  of  my  bedroom  is  made 
in  matting  set  in  soft  grey  bark,  the 
original  untouched  tree ;  the  mirror 
frame  is  a  lovely  setting  of  twigs,  the 
table  legs  the  slender  boughs  of  sap- 
lings,—  all  this  being  the  idea  of  the 
Japanese  carpenter  who  made  the  fur- 
niture, and  who  thought  I  would  like 
to  have  something  in  harmony  with  the 
woods  around.  Everywhere  is  the  smell  of  sweet  new 
planks  and  fresh  grass  blinds  and  the  murmur  of 
streams  and  pine  woods,  and  —  it  is  heavenly  cool ! 
We  can  use  a  blanket  at  night,  and  I  am  wearing 
light  flannel  dresses  in  the  afternoon. 

As  we  sat  on  the  verandah  in  delightful  repose  on 
the  evening  of  our  arrival,  a  dancing  light  appeared  at 
the  far  end  of  the  garden,  and  came  slowly  nearer 
until  it  resolved  itself  into  a  bobbing  lantern,  which 


HOW    THE    RICE 
GROWS 


64 

roused  our  five  dogs  to  one  defiant  howl.  The  lantern- 
bearer  paused,  then  found  courage  to  approach,  and  a 
gorgeous  person  in  white  uniform,  white  gloves,  and  a 
good  deal  of  gold  about  him,  slowly  loomed  on  our 
astonished  sight,  and  stopped  at  the  verandah-step  with 
a  military  bow.  This  was  our  special  policeman,  under 
whose  charge  we  are  to  be  for  the  summer.  He  held 
out  a  piece  of  paper  towards  us,  exclaiming,  "  My 

card ! "     Then  he  looked  at  H .     "  You  —  Minister  ?  " 

he  inquired ;  and  when  H nodded,  he  proceeded  to 

explain  that  he  had  been  sent  up  from  Nagano  to  look 
after  us,  and  that  he  should  carry  out  his  orders  with 
vigilance  and  zeal.  The  English  was  very  queer,  and 
ground  out  a  word  at  a  time ;  but  he  would  not  be 

helped,    and    was    rather   offended    when    Mr.     G 

addressed  him  in  fluent  Japanese.  His  parting  saluta- 
tion was  original :  "  Please !  Receive  !  Sleep !  "  Then 
he  left  us,  and  he  and  his  lantern  bobbed  off  into  the 
darkness  again.  He  is  quartered  in  the  village,  and  I 
hear  takes  advantage  of  his  special  mission  to  swagger 
fearfully  among  his  colleagues  and  compatriots. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

"IX   THE    DAWN    OF    TIME."    —THE   STAR   LOVERS    AND   THEIR 
STORY.  —  THE   PITIFUL    HISTORY   OF    O   SHO   KUNG 

KARUIZAWA,  July,  1890. 

rriHE  evenings  are  almost  as  enchanting  as  the  morn- 
ings in  this  July  weather.  We  sit  out  till  very 
late,  watching  the  stars  shining  through  the  clear  air 
as  they  never  shine  for  us  when  we  are  on  the  plain. 
Our  green  lawnlet  (the  turf  was  brought  bit  by  bit 
from  a  great  distance,  and  is  growing  beautifully  now) 
slopes  down  to  a  pond  where  the  stars  all  find  their 
doubles  on  these  still  nights;  and  that  reminds  me 
that  this  is  the  month  of  the  Star  Lovers,  and  that  I 
must  tell  you  their  story  —  a  story  so  old  that  it  came 
to  Japan  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  ago,  when 
Cyrus  reigned  in  Persia,  when  Rome  was  a  collection 
of  huts  in  a  wolf-haunted  swamp,  when  the  family  of 
the  kings  reigned  in  purple  and  gold  among  the  vines 
and  poppies  of  Etruria.  Japan  was  then  standing,  as 
it  were,  at  the  knees  of  China;  and  this  is  the  tale 
which  the  teacher  told  her  in  some  July  twilight  — 
the  tale  of  the  seventh  night  of  the  seventh  moon,  the 
story  of  the  festival  called  Tana-Bata. 

In  the  dawn  of  time,  before  the  immortal  gods  had 

55 


56 

descended  to  earth,  the  Sky  Father,  the  Emperor  of 
Heaven,  had  one  daughter,  so  beautiful  that  even  Ama- 
terasu,  the  sun-goddess,  seemed  dark  beside  her,  and 
so  skilful  that  she  wove  all  the  garments  for  the  Court 
of  Heaven  —  garments  of  mist  all  dew-impearled,  State 
robes  of  sunshine  dazzling  as  the  light,  veils  of  rosy 
film,  and  mantles  of  night-black  velvet  showered  with 
diamond  stars.  There  was  no  other  weaver  who  could 
spin  such  threads  or  weave  such  webs  in  all  the  heavenly 
family,  and  she  sat  always  at  her  golden  loom,  glad 
and  content  with  her  fair  task,  and  asking  no  more 
than  to  sit  there  always,  because  she  knew  not  love; 
and  they  called  her  Shokucho,  the  weaver  of  the  skies, 
but  we  call  her  Vega. 

Now  seeing  how  fair  and  wise  she  was,  many  of  the 
gods  came  asking  for  Shokucho  to  wife;  but  she  loved 
none  of  them,  and  the  Emperor  of  Heaven  was  glad 
to  keep  her,  and  sent  them  all  away,  saying,  "My 
daughter  is  wedded  to  her  golden  loom !  No  other 
husband  does  her  heart  desire."  And  the  other  gods 
laughed  and  jeered,  saying,  "  Truly  the  Princess  Sho- 
kucho is  a  slave,  and  not  a  goddess !  Except  she 
marry,  will  she  not  grow  old  ?  Except  she  love,  how 
can  she  keep  her  immortality  ?  A  cruel  father  art 
thou  to  her ! "  For  it  is  well  known  that  even  a  god- 
dess will  not  gain  eternity  except  she  have  loved,  since 
the  birth  of  love  is  the  birth  of  her  spirit,  which  may 
not  die.  And  the  Sky  Father,  Tiu,  Tenshu  Sama, 
Dyaus  Piter,  pondered  as  he  sat  on  his  throne  in  the 
sunrising;  and  he  drew  his  fingers  through  his  beard, 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  57 

which  was  long  and  white  as  the  autumn  moonbeams, 
and  he  said,  "  The  gods  speak  truth,  young  and  tur- 
bulent though  they  be.  Shokucho  must  love,  or  she 
will  pass  with  the  warp  of  the  sunshine  and  decay 
with  the  woof  of  the  dawn.  Now  where  shall  we  find 
a  husband  so  fair  that  she  may  love  him,  so  obscure 
that  he  dare  not  carry  her  away?" 

Then  his  eyes  fell  on  a  goodly  herdsman,  driving  his 
cattle  in  the  heavenly  plain.  His  countenance  was  lordly, 
but  his  raiment  was  poor,  and  he  followed  his  white  oxen 
with  slow  contented  feet  in  the  starry  meadows ;  and  in 
our  earth  he  is  known  as  a  child  of  Aquila. 

The  Emperor  of  Heaven  said  to  his  daughter, 
"  Princess,  seest  thou  yon  herdsman,  tall  and  straight 
as  the  reed  that  groweth  in  water?" 

"Yea,  father,"  said  the  Princess,  "I  have  looked 
on  him  once ;  and  lest  my  eyes  should  be  blinded  by 
his  beauty  and  my  heart  burnt  with  vain  desire,  I  have 
looked  no  more.  My  golden  loom  and  my  jewel-weaving 
seem  dark  to  me  now." 

"That  is  well,"  said  the  Sky  Father,  "for  Kenkyo 
shall  be  thy  husband." 

Then  Shokucho  was  so  happy  that  she  laid  her 
head  on  her  golden  work  and  wept  for  joy,  and  her 
tears  fell  through  its  sunshine  and  made  the  first 
rainbow ;  and  that  very  day  she  wed  the  herdsman 
Kenkyo,  who  had  loved  her  so  long  that  he  could  say 
but  one  word,  her  name. 

And  there  was  rejoicing  in  the  Courts  of  Heaven, 
because  Shokucho  had  earned  her  immortality ;  and 


58  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

she  herself  cared  little  for  immortality  while  Kenkyo 
sat  by  her  side,  and  said  her  name  again  and  again, 
and  found  other  words  to  tell  her  how  he  loved  her. 
Neither  did  she  care  for  her  weaving  any  more;  still 
stood  the  golden  shuttles  of  the  loom,  and  still  stood 
Kenkyo's  white  steers,  not  knowing  their  way  to  pasture, 
and  wondering  that  their  master  led  them  thither  no 
more.  The  herdsman  forgot  his  herding,  the  weaver 
Princess  forgot  her  weaving,  and  each  could  think 
only  of  the  other  in  the  July  starlight. 

Then  the  Sky  Father  was  exceedingly  angry,  and 
he  said  to  Kenkyo,  "Presumptuous  herdsman,  had  I 
known  thou  wouldst  stop  my  daughter's  weaving,  never 
would  I  have  given  her  to  thee  to  wife!  Begone  to 
the  other  bank  of  the  heavenly  river,  the  Ama  no  gawa, 
the  milky  stream !  Not  till  a  year  has  passed  shalt 
thou  embrace  Shokucho  again  !  " 

Then  a  great  eagle  came  and  lifted  Kenkyo  in  his 
claws,  and  set  him  down  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river 
that  runs  so  wide  and  white  through  the  blue  meadows 
of  Heaven,  and  his  kine  swam  after  him  across  the 
stream ;  but  Shokucho  was  left  wringing  her  hands, 
as  she  knelt  on  the  bank,  and  weeping  bitter  tears. 

"  Back  to  thy  weaving,  daughter,"  said  Tenshu  Sanaa, 
"  and  still  thy  foolish  grief !  In  a  year  from  to-day 
thou  shalt  have  one  night  by  thy  herdsman's  side." 

So  slowly  and  sadly  Shokucho  went  back  to  her 
loom,  and  sat  there  working  silently  till  twelve  moons 
had  waxed  and  waned ;  and  every  beating  of  her  heart 
was  a  cry  of  love  for  Kenkyo.  And  poor  Kenkyo 


LETTERS   FROM   JAP  AX  59 


TUB    GENTLE    BIRDS 


looked  across  the  river  from  where  his  kine  stood  knee 
deep  in  celestial  pasturage  —  looked  to  where  Shokucho 
sat  in  the  heart  of  the  light  that  glowed  from  the  loom, 
'white  or  crimson  or  green  as  she  flung  in  threads  of 
jewels.  And  at  last  the  seventh  night  of  the  seventh 
moon  came  round,  and  the  shuttle  stopped  of  itself, 
and  the  Milky  Way  began  to  part  that  the  lovers  might 
meet  dryshod.  But  there  came  a  strong  rustling  of 
wings  in  the  air,  and  it  was  suddenly  darkened  with 
myriads  of  gentle  birds,  magpies  who  had  grieved  for 
the  poor  lovers ;  and  they  hung  in  air,  wing  to  wing 
and  beak  to  beak,  till  they  made  a  bridge  from  side  to 
side  of  the  Milky  River ;  and  Kenkyo  rushed  across,  and 
met  Shokucho  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms,  and  for  one 
short  summer  night  the  Star  Lovers  were  united.  But 
at  the  next  dawn  Kenkyo  had  to  leave  his  beloved, 
and  wait  through  twelve  months  more  before  he  might 
speak  to  her  again.  She  conies  to  the  white  river's 
bank  night  after  night,  and  stretches  out  her  arms  to 


60 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


him,  and  calls  his  name ;  and  he,  seeing  her  also, 
stretches  out  longing  arms  towards  her ;  but  because 
of  the  wide  impetuous  torrent  neither  can  hear  the 


LEFT    ALONE 


other  speak,  —  till  this  magic  night.  The  magpies 
never  forget  them ;  the  bridge  of  Kasa-saji,  built  of 
gleaming  wings,  always  spans  the  flood ;  and  their  great 
love  makes  them  forget  in  this  one  night  of  happiness 
all  the  weary  waiting  of  the  year. 


LETTERS    FROM    .FA  PAN  61 

So  Shokucho  and  Kenkyo  are  the  patrons  of  all 
separated  lovers,  of  all  faithful  husbands  and  wives  to 
\vhom  absence  teaches  a  higher  love,  a  harder  con- 
stancy. On  this  night  a  hungry  heart  may  pray  for 
the  sweet  food  of  love,  in  certain  hope  of  receiving  an 
answer  to  its  prayer ;  happy  lovers,  invoke  the  lovers 
in  the  sky  to  protect  them  from  change  or  bereave- 
ment, and  offer  tender  sympathy  to  those  for  whom 
this  night's  meeting  means  a  year  of  separation ;  the 
widow  commends  to  them  the  soul  of  her  dead  hus- 
band ;  the  woman  left  alone  in  the  little  home  entreats 
protection  for  the  dear  one  who  is  forced  to  take  a 
lonely  journey ;  the  maidens  pray  for  skill  in  rare 
embroidery,  and  put  their  work  under  the  weaver's 
patronage.  All  pray  that  it  may  not  rain  on  this 
night ;  for  if  it  rains,  the  river  overflows,  and  the 
heavenly  lovers  may  not  meet.  The  poets  make  many 
a  poem  on  love,  and  their  sonnets  are  written  on 
beautiful  poem-papers,  painted  with  flowers  and  pow- 
dered with  gold,  which  the  young  people  tie  on  the 
branches  of  two  leafy  bamboos,  such  as  are  set  up  in 
every  garden  on  this  night.  The  light  breeze  makes 
the  poems  flutter  airily  among  the  leaves,  and  then  it 
passes  on  to  where  in  the  open  room  a  large  party 
of  young  people  sit  together  on  the  mats,  feasting  on 
flowery  sweets,  and  drinking  their  perfumed  tea,  while 
one  after  another  repeats  some  verse  of  a  poem,  or 
sings  it  to  the  humming  accompaniment  of  the  sami- 
-  :  then  games  are  played,  shadow  games  behind  the 
screens,  or  hide-and-seek  in  and  out  of  the  simple 


62 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


home,  and  the  elaborate  garden,  with  its  trees  and 
stepping-stones  and  bridges,  its  fairy  dells  and  toy 
mountains,  till  the  air  is  full  of  the  laughter  of  young 


SHADOW    GAMES 


voices,  the  flutter  of  flying  draperies,  the  joyous  life- 
measure  marked  by  young  feet  as  the  boys  and  girls 
chase  one  another  down  the  dusky  paths. 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


G3 


There  is  a  story  of  another  Sho,  who  is  called  in 
Japan  0  Sho  Rung,  the  remaining  syllables,  whether  in 
this  name  or  that  of  the  Star  Weaver,  being  mere 


SHADOW    C.AMES 


affixes  denoting  rank  or  age;  in  Japan,  Ko  or  Clio  is 
usually  added  to  a  girl's  name  in  her  own  family  as 
long  as  she  is  very  young.  The  story  of  0  Sho  Rung 


64  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

properly  belongs  to  September ;  but  I  will  tell  it  to 
you  here  since  it  is  in  my  mind.  I  learnt  it  from  a 
strange  little  picture  that  I  have,  and  whose  meaning, 
though  touching  some  distant  point  in  my  memory, 
remained  unexplained  till  a  Japanese  friend  told  me 
that  it  referred  to  a  Chinese  story,  and  as  he  told  it 
I  began  to  remember.  The  picture  is  a  delicately 
coloured  print  representing  a  young  girl,  slender  and 
pale  and  richly  dressed,  wearing  an  expression  of  horror 
and  despair.  She  is  seated  on  a  horse,  which  ambles 
on  amid  a  group  of  fierce  and  hairy  Mongols,  whose 
faces  are  of  a  deep  reddish  brown ;  hands  and  faces  are 
covered  with  bristles,  and  they  wear  the  unmistakable 
look  of  the  rough  dirty  Tartar  of  to-day.  One  of 
them  walks  beside  the  horse,  and  holds  the  poor 
shrinking  girl  in  her  place;  the  captain,  recognisable 
by  his  richer  dress,  stands  at  one  side,  with  his  arms 
crossed  and  a  hideous  scowl  on  his  countenance  ;  his 
underlings  are  evidently  rejoicing  at  the  beautiful  prize 
so  roughly  carried  away. 

That,  said  my  friend,  is  a  picture  of  the  lady 
0  Sho  Kung,  and  her  story  is  a  very  sad  one.  Many 
centuries  ago,  when  the  Han  dynasty  was  ruling  in 
China,  the  Emperor  was  obliged  to  give  many  rich 
presents  to  the  Khan  of  Mongolia,  who,  instead  of  re- 
turning them,  would  constantly  break  across  the  frontier 
and  take  far  more  than  the  Emperor  cared  to  give  him. 
However,  he  was  just  then  so  much  the  stronger  that 
it  was  useless  to  think  of  resistance.  The  Khan  had 
heard  that  the  Chinese  Court  was  full  of  beautiful 


LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN  65 

ladies,  and  be  thought  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to  have 
a  wife  from  hence ;  so  he  sent  a  great  embassy  to  the 
Emperor,  asking  for  a  beautiful  Princess  to  be  the 
Khan's  wife.  The  Emperor  was  very  angry  at  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  barbarian,  and  could  not  reconcile 
himself  to  the  idea  that  a  Princess  of  his  family  should 
fill  such  a  position.  However,  he  seems  to  have  an- 
swered the  envoys  politely,  and  only  begged  for  a  little 
time,  so  that  he  might  indeed  select  the  most  beautiful 
Princess  in  China  to  be  the  consort  of  the  Khan. 
Then  the  messengers  were  feasted,  and  had  many 
presents  given  to  them,  and  managed  to  pass  the  time 
very  pleasantly  while  the  Emperor  in  the  seclusion 
of  the  Palace  pondered  as  to  what  should  be  done. 

Seeing  his  trouble,  the  Empress-Mother  came  to  him, 
and  said,  "  Let  not  the  Son  of  Heaven  be  cast  down ! 
No  Imperial  Princess  shall  be  sent  to  this  barbarian. 
Let  us  now  choose  a  Court  lady,  skilled  and  beautiful, 
and  let  us  send  her  to  the  Mongol!" 

And  the  Emperor  saw  that  it  was  good  counsel, 
and  very  quickly  the  news  spread,  and  great  was  the 
consternation  among  the  Emperor's  three  hundred  con- 
cubines, the  beautiful  girls  who  had  been  brought  up 
in  the  Palace  under  the  Empress-Mother's  eyes,  and 
who  were  skilled  in  every  art  to  please  and  cheer. 
The  young  Empress  comforted  them,  saying,  "  Nay,  my 
sisters,  fear  not !  You  who  are  the  happy  slaves  of  the 
Son  of  Heaven  may  never  leave  the  Palace  or  look  in 
the  face  of  any  Chinese  prince,  much  less  of  any  common 
man.  The  Khan's  bride  will  be  sought  elsewhere." 


66  LETTEBS  FEOM   JAPAN 

And  so  it  happened;  for  the  Emperor  said  to  him- 
self, "What  does  this  barbarian  know  of  beauty? 
Verily  a  peasant-woman  would  be  fine  and  fair  enough 
for  him.  However,  since  he  is  very  powerful,  we  will 
cause  a  fair  woman  to  be  sought  out,  and  we  will  tell 
these  moles  of  envoys  that  she  is  a  Princess,  and  no  one 
will  be  the  wiser."  For  of  course  no  man  ever  looked 
on  the  faces  of  the  Court  ladies,  except  the  Emperor 
and  their  own  attendants. 

So  the  order  went  out  that  all  the  fair  women  in 
any  way  connected  with  the  Court  should  have  their 
portraits  painted,  so  that  the  Emperor  should  look  at 
them  and  decide  who  should  be  sent  to  the  barbarian's 
country ;  and  the  Emperor's  own  painter  was  sent  to  all 
the  pavilions  of  the  Summer  Palace,  and  the  Hunting 
Palace,  and  the  Golden  Palace  in  Peking,  where  dwelt 
many  beautiful  girls  in  attendance  on  the  Empress- 
Mother  and  the  Princesses,  and  also  the  daughters  of 
great  mandarins  who  were  Court  officials.  But  the 
true  object  of  the  search  was  kept  a  secret.  And  when 
the  women  found  out  by  teasing  and  coaxing,  that 
it  was  the  Son  of  Heaven  himself  who  had  sent  for 
their  portraits,  each  one  implored  and  bribed  the 
painter  to  make  her  the  most  beautiful,  so  that  she 
might  find  favour  in  the  Emperor's  eyes. 

Each  one  —  except  0  Sho  Kung.  I  do  not  for  a 
moment  think  that  that  was  her  name.  She  was 
probably  called  Shung-Ma;  and  the  thread  through  the 
labyrinth  of  transposition  will  lead  us  back  to  the  Star 
Weaver  who  was  separated  from  her  love,  even  as  was 


LETTERS   FROM    JAPAN 


67 


this  poor  little  lady  of 
Pechili,  on  whom  the 
Japanese  poets  have 
written  endless  elegies. 
However,  she  is  0  Sho 
Rung  in  the  land  where 
I  heard  her  sad  story ;  so 
I  will  call  her  by  her 
Japanese  name.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  a 
great  mandarin,  and  was 
brought  up  in  the  wom- 
en's pavilion  in  his  beau- 
tiful house  by  the  Pali- 
Chuang  Pagoda.  There 
was  a  great  garden  and 
a  lotus  lake,  where  she 
and  her  friends  pushed 
about  their  little  boats 
among  the  dreamy  pink 
flowers,  and  halted  under  white  marble  bridges  to  write 
little  love  poems  on  scented  paper;  and  0  Sho  Kung 
was  very  happy.  When  she  was  fourteen,  she  was 
betrothed  to  a  young  noble,  who,  she  was  told,  was 
everything  that  was  brave  and  handsome.  She  would 
not  be  allowed  to  see  him  or  he  her  until  after  the 
wedding,  when  he  could  raise  the  scarlet  veil  from  her 
face ;  but  the  old  go-between  woman  told  wonderful 
tales  of  0  Sho  Rung  to  Tseng  Shi,  and  of  Tseng  Shi 
to  0  Sho  Rung ;  and  one  day,  when  he  was  riding  by, 


A    DAIMYO'S    DAUGHTER 


68  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

the  girl  hid  behind  a  lattice  in  the  garden  wall  and 
saw  him  clearly,  and  he  carried  away  her  poor  little 
heart  dangling  on  his  huge  peaked  saddle-bow.  And 
she  debated  within  herself  whether  she  really  must 
weep  for  three  days  before  her  wedding,  and  make 
resistance  when  taken  to  her.  husband's  house,  as 
every  well-brought-up  girl  was  expected  to  do.  For 
though  she  loved  her  parents,  she  thought  there  would 
be  nothing  to  cry  over  when  the  time  came  for  her  to 
be  married  to  that  kind-looking  handsome  youth  who 
was  to  be  her  husband. 

The  preparations  for  the  wedding  were  nearly 
completed,  when  the  Emperor's  messenger  with  the 
Emperor's  painter"  appeared  at  the  gates,  and  requested 
to  have  an  interview  with  0  Sho  Kung's  father.  The 
mandarin  was  not  greatly  pleased  that  two  strange  men 
should  be  allowed  to  look  on  his  child's  face ;  but  the 
Emperor's  command  carried  all  before  it,  and  the  world 
already  knew  of. the  existence  of  the  mandarin's  beauti- 
ful daughter.  She  was  covered  with  confusion  in  the 
presence  of  the  envoy,  who  kindly  explained  that  the 
Son  of  Heaven  had  particular  reasons  for  wishing  to 
have  her  portrait.  "Why  mine?"  cried  the  modest 
girl;  "I  am  but. a  roadside  weed,  and  his  august  Palace 
is  full  of  beautiful  jessamine  flowers  !  "  And  then,  with 
the  cunning  of  love,  she  managed  to  bribe  the  painter 
with  a  handful  of  jewels  to  say  that  she  was  ugly  and 
deformed,  and  her  face  unworthy  to  be  portrayed  for 
the  Emperor  to  see,  that  so  he  might  never  wish  to 
have  her  brought  to  the  Palace.  The  painter  laughed, 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  69 

and  took  the  jewels,  and  did  even  as  she  begged  him 
to  do.  All  the  other  women  had  given  him  jewels  to 
make  their  portraits  as  lovely  as  possible,  each  hoping 
that  the  choice  would  fall  on  her,  and  never  dreaming 
of  the  dreadful  fate  that  would  follow  the  choice. 

And  so  it  happened  that,  when  the  messengers 
returned  to  their  master,  they  brought  a  collection  of 
portraits  of  such  beautiful  women  that  the  Son  of 
Heaven  was  glad  and  angry  at  the  same  time. 
"  What ! "  he  cried,  "  is  my  empire  so  rich  in  fair 
women  that  the  gods  might  envy  it,  and  yet  so  weak 
that  I  must  send  one  of  these  pomegranate  blossoms  to 
mate  with  a  filthy  barbarian  ?  Not  one  shall  go  —  not 
one ! " 

Then  the  wily  messenger  told  him  of  the  lady  0 
Sho  Kung,  and  said  that  she  had  a  dark  skin  and  round 
eyes  and  big  mouth,  even  as  she  had  begged  him  to 
do ;  and  the  Emperor  laughed,  and  said,  "  You  did  well 
to  tell  me  of  her  ugly  face !  It  will  match  with  the 
countenance  of  the  Khan  !  Let  0  Sho  Kung  be  sent 
to  Mongolia  to  be  the  bride  of  the  churl." 

So  the  message  was  carried  back  that  0  Sho  Kung 
was  wanted  as  a  bride  for  the  Khan,  and  the  com- 
mands were  very  precise  that  she  was  to  come  to  the 
Palace  at  once.  And  she  who  had  wondered  if  indeed 
she  must  weep  when  she  left  her  father's  house  wept 
most  bitter  tears  when  she  was  torn  away  from  it, 
and  her  father  and  mother  went  with  her,  and  their 
hearts  were  heavy  as  lead.  When  they  reached  the 
Palace,  0  Sho  Kung  was  taken  to  the  Empress-Mother, 


70  LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN 

who  told  her  that  which  lay  in  store  for  her ;  and 
0  Sho  Kung  became  white  and  dumb  because  of  the 
anguish  of  her  heart,  she  being  young  and  new  to 
pain.  And  the  Empress-Mother's  handmaids  dressed 
her  in  the  robes  of  a  Princess  with  royal  jewels  and 
great  pomp,  and  on  her  head  they  put  the  diadem  of 
the  golden  phoenix  which  only  the  royal  ladies  might 
wear.  At  last  it  was  all  done,  and  as  the  Empress- 
Mother  looked  at  the  girl  in  her  shining  robes  she 
said  to  herself,  "  Verily  the  messenger  lied  to  my  son ! 
This  maiden  is  a  white  pomegranate  blossom,  fairer 
than  all  the  Princesses !  Would  I  could  keep  her 
here !  " 

But  it  was  too  late  for  that.  The  command  came 
that  the  envoys  were  ready  to  depart,  and  that  they 
were  even  now  having  their  last  audience  with  the 
Emperor,  and  0  Sho  Kung  was  commanded  to  go  and 
make  obeisance  to  the  Son  of  Heaven  before  starting 
on  her  journey.  And  her  heart  was  like  marble,  but 
her  courage  was  high,  and  not  a  tear  was  on  her  cheek 
as  she  was  led  to  the  Emperor's  presence.  And  as  she 
entered  the  throne-room  he  said  carelessly  to  the 
envoys,  "  Behold  the  Princess  whom  we  have  chosen 
for  the  honour  of  sharing  your  master's  throne !  "  And 
only  when  he  had  spoken  did  he  look  up,  and  there 
before  him  stood  0  Sho  Kung,  beautiful  as  a  full  moon 
when  no  stars  are  in  the  sky,  proud  and  graceful  as 
the  young  willow  by  a  peaceful  stream.  And  the 
Emperor's  heart  leapt  up  in  his  bosom,  and  red  anger 
took  him  that  this  fairest  of  women  must  go  from 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


71 


his  Court,  to  set 
like  a  setting 
moon  in  the 
sandy  desert. 
And  for  one 
moment  he 
wavered ;  then 
he  thought  of 
his  royal  word 
already  given  to 
the  rough  mes- 
sengers, who 
gazed  open- 
mouthed  on  the 
lovely  vision ; 
and  the  Em- 
peror covered 
his  face  with 
his  sleeve,  and 
0  Sho  Rung 
prostrated  her- 
self before  him, 
and  passed  from 
his  sight  for 
ever. 

And  when  her  mother  saw  her  set  on  a  horse  and 
led  out  of  the  city  by  rude  men  who  laughed  at  her 
tears  and  handled  her  roughly,  while  0  Sho  Kung 
held  out  her  arms  for  help  which  neither  father  nor 
mother  could  give  since  the  Emperor  had  spoken  — 


THE    DEPARTURE    OF    O    SHO    KUXG 


72  LETTERS  FROM  JAP  AX 

then  her  mother  cut  her  own  throat,  entreating  that 
at  least  her  spirit  might  follow  her  daughter  to  watch 
over  her;  and  her  father  cursed  the  Emperor  in  his 
heart,  and  began  to  plot  to  deliver  him  and  his  city 
into  the  hands  of  the  Khan,  who  greatly  coveted  it. 
But  Tseng  Shi  married  another  girl,  and  lived  happy, 
forgetting  0  Sho  Kung. 

I  know  what  became  of  her  at  last,  after  she  had 
ridden  for  twenty  days  through  the  grass-lands  to  the 
north ;  but  I  must  not  tell  you  all  my  stories  in 
these  letters,  or  there  will  be  none  left  to  bring  home. 
How  do  I  know,  are  you  saying,  how  is  it  possible 
that  I  should  know,  when  it  all  happened  so  long  ago, 
in  those  strange  climes?  "Well,  some  of  the  story  was 
told  me  here,  and  some,  I  think,  one  summer's  day 
by  the  lotus  ponds  of  Pali-Chuang,  and  some  was 
whispered  in  the  grass-lands  through  which  I,  too,  did 
ride.  Who  shall  limit  that  which  is  breathed  in  the 
hearing  ear? 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  APPROACH  OF  THE  STORM.  —  AT  THE  HEART  OF  THE 
TYPHOON. — A  FUNNY  SIGHT. — THE  USUI  TOGE. — THE 
STORY  OF  A  HERO,  AND  A  HEROINE.  —  YAMATO'S  RE- 
PENTANCE. —  "IN  THE  SWEET  OPEN  FIELDS  "  . 

KARUIZAWA,  August,  1890. 

I  BROUGHT  a  whole  library  of  instructive  books 
up  here ;  but  reading  is  sheer  waste  of  time  in 
these  surroundings,  and  one's  eyes  are  too  filled  with 
new  and  lovely  sights  to  go  back  contentedly  to  printed 
books  and  other  people's  thoughts.  What  book  that 
ever  was  published  brings  the  sense  of  strength  and 
peace  that  the  sight  of  pine  branches  waving  across  the 
morning  sky  can  give  ?  God's  books  are  not  all  written 
in  printer's  ink.  On  this  wind-swept  upstairs  gallery 
where  I  write  I  am  on  a  level  with  the  second  story  of 
the  pines,  and  they  are  reaching  out  their  green  and 
gold  towards  me  with  generous  hands.  I  have  just 
come  back  from  a  long  walk  over  the  plain ;  we  have 
had  a  fearful  typhoon ;  and  the  first  Lilium  auratum 
has  been  brought  in :  of  which  shall  I  tell  you  first  ? 
The  typhoon,  of  course  ?  Ah,  well,  there  is  no  account- 
ing for  tastes. 

The  typhoon  burst   upon  us   last  week,  happily  not 

73 


74 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


quite  without  warning.  When  it  rains  ramrods  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  the  barometer  behaves  as  if  it 
had  St.  Vitus's  dance,  we  know  what  to  expect  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  and  look  to  chimneys  and  shutters, 
see  that  the  animals  are  under  cover,  and,  up  here, 


PINES    IN    OUR    MOUNTAIN    GARDEN 


shovel  away  the  dam  which  turns  a  part  of  the  moun- 
tain stream  through  the  washhouse,  and  see  that  the 
auxiliary  streamlet  is  returned  with  thanks  before 
the  worst  floods  rush  by.  But  all  the  precautions  in 
the  world  cannot  make  the  visitation  anything  but  a 
very  dreadful  one ;  and  when  it  is  over,  one  is  more 
inclined  to  thank  Heaven  for  that  which  has  not  hap- 
pened than  to  grumble  at  damage  done.  I  think  I  told 


75 

you  that  our  cottage  is  built  on  a  three-cornered  piece 
of  land,  bounded  on  the  two  lower  sides  by  converging 
streams,  and  rising  into  the  hills  at  the  back.  The 
whole  is  on  a  rather  sharp  slope,  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance, for  floods  and  freshets  drain  off  quickly  without 
doing  much  damage  to  the  house  or  garden,  but  wreak- 
ing their  fury  on  our  communications  with  the  outer 
world  beyond.  All  through  that  memorable  day  the 
heat  was  intense,  the  rain  fell  with  mechanical  regular- 
ity in  straight  bars  which  rattled  like  iron  on  all  our 
roofs,  made  the  lawn  and  paths  one  moving  sheet  of 
water,  and  churned  our  toy  pond  into  sputtering  froth. 
All  the  galleries  were  safely  enclosed  with  the  glass 
screens ;  but  on  two  sides  the  heavy  night-shutters  had 
to  be  put  up  to  keep  the  rooms  from  being  flooded. 
Whatever  there  was  of  insect  life  in  the  garden  and 
woods  seemed  to  be  taking  refuge  in  the  house.  Mosqui- 
toes, moths,  huge  armed  cockchafers  heavy  as  stones 
—  all  flung  themselves  against  the  glass ;  and  for  the 
thousandth  time  I  was  glad  that  we  had  not  windowed 
our  house  with  paper  in  real  Japanese  fashion  —  we 
should  have  had  to  sit  all  day  with  candles  behind 
closed  shutters,  as  many  of  our  friends  did  through 
this  very  storm. 

The  poor  servants  were  much  alarmed,  for  they 
knew  as  well  as  we  did  what  was  coming.  The  cook 
was  seen  climbing  the  roof  of  the  kitchen  off  the 
shoulders  of  "  Chisai  Cook  San"  (Little  Cook  Mr.)  to 
inspect  an  extra  long  iron  chimney,  which  he  had  in- 
duced me  in  a  moment  of  foolhardiness  to  have  put 


76  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

up  for  his  benefit.  The  servants  live  so  much  out  of 
doors,  that  there  are  numberless  little  properties  in 
their  own  yard  to  be  got  under  cover,  if  a  very  bad 
storm  is  coming.  Even  the  dogs  lay  wise  and  silent, 
asking  no  questions  and  expecting  no  walks;  not  even 
nosing  about  under  the  front  doorsteps,  where  they 
bury  their  best  bones.  Our  good  policeman  (his  name 
is  Furihata)  came  up  several  times  instead  of  only  twice 
in  the  course  of  the  day  to  see  if  all  was  right  with 

us ;    and   Mr.    G visited  the  waterworks  anxiously, 

fearing  either  that  we  should  be  swamped  or  else  have 
all  our  bamboo  pipes  carried  away  down  the  main 
stream. 

The  intense  oppression  and  excitement  that  I  have 
felt  in  other  typhoons  was  upon  us  all ;  we  seemed  to 
be  fighting  the  air,  hot,  choking,  evil  air,  full  of  enemies 
to  soul  and  body.  Our  great  volcano  neighbour,  Asa  ma 
Yama,  had  sent  out  more  than  one  long  roar,  and  the 
earth  had  heaved  once  and  twice  under  our  feet,  when 
at  last  the  storm  reached  us,  swept  over  and  round  and 
through  us  in  a  concentrated  fury  of  attack.  Every 
moment  it  seemed  as  if  the  house  must  go,  and  we  and 
it  be  hurled  down  to  the  drowning  plain.  The  night 
came  down  black  as  wet  pitch,  and  our  poor  little  home, 
with  its  nickering  lamps  and  quivering  walls,  seemed 
the  only  point  left  in  the  inky  darkness.  The  wooden 
shutters  had  all  been  run  into  place  and  tightly  bolted 
when  the  hurricane  broke,  for  a  wooden  house  of  this 
kind  could  rise  up  and  sail  down  the  wind  like  an  open 
umbrella  if  one  lifting  gust  got  under  the  roof.  So  all 


79 

night  long  we  sat,  or  lay  down  for  a  little,  with  every- 
thing prepared  for  flight  should  the  storm  prove  the 
stronger ;  and  again  and  again  it  seemed  impossible  that 
our  wooden  pillars  resting  on  shallow  stones  should  be 
able  to  withstand  the  force  of  the  wind,  which  shrieked 
and  beat  and  thundered  against  them  all  in  turn.  The 
whole  safety  of  a  Japanese  house  depends  on  the  wooden 
pillars  which  support  it  (the  walls  are  mere  veils  of 
plank  stretched  between),  and  an  ingenious  arrange- 
ment is  resorted  to  in  order  that  the  pillars  may  have 
literally  fair  play.  Each  square  pillar  stands  in  a 
socket  of  stone,  the  only  foundation  used  at  all,  and 
not  placed  more  than  two  feet  below  the  floor  of  the 
house.  The  pillar  is  square,  and  is  rounded  off  at  the 
base ;  and  the  socket  is  also  round,  and  is  slightly 
too  large  for  the  post  which  rests  in  it,  thus  allowing 
the  post  a  chance  of  moving  a  very  little  in  earthquake 
or  storm,  and  righting  itself  again  at  once.  In  slight 
or  medium  shocks  a  house  built  in  this  way  suffers 
hardly  at  all,  its  elasticity  preventing  the  resistance 
which  would  wreck  a  hard  and  fast  edifice ;  in  the  mad 
destruction  of  a  violent  earthquake,  I  doubt  if  the  house 
has  yet  been  built  which  would  not  suffer,  and  suffer 
greatly.  Twice  in  that  awful  night  I  felt  as  if  the 
house  must  really  go,  when  two  great  lifting  gusts 
seemed  to  have  got  under  it ;  but  the  long  hours  passed, 
and  again  and  again  the  whole  fury  of  the  storm  hurled 
itself  against  us  without  doing  any  sensible  damage. 
As  we  heard  the  thunder  of  the  swollen  torrents  on 
either  hand  roll  by,  with  many  a  crash  of  timber  and 


80  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

cannonade  of  flying  stones,  and  yet  saw  that  our  floors 
were  dry  and  our  roof  whole,  we  took  heart  to  sleep 
a  little,  hoping  that  the  tempest  would  be  over  by  the 
morning.  It  had  raged  for  several  hours,  and  all 

through    the    night    I    heard    Mr.    G tapping   the 

barometer  violently  from  time  to  time  to  see  if  it  could 
not  be  induced  to  show  signs  of  settling.  One  of  the 
strangest  portents  of  the  storm  was  the  wild  excitement 
of  the  needle.  It  danced  from  side  to  side,  and  hardly 
stayed  quiet  for  a  moment  till  the  gale  was  over;  and 
then  it  settled  to  "Fair,"  and  stayed  there,  in  spite  of 
black  skies  and  a  deluged  world.  I  suppose  it  knew 
what  it  was  about !  I  am  told  that  this  nervousness 
of  the  glass  is  an  invariable  feature  of  the  true  typhoon. 
At  last  the  fury  of  the  storm  passed  away,  and 
travelled  up  through  the  hills  with  long  wails  and 
half-heard  shrieks  so  awful  that  they  gave  the  impres- 
sion •  of  some  agonised  creature,  invisible,  close,  being 
tortured  to  death  before  our  eyes  that  saw  nothing. 
Fainter  and  fainter  it  grew,  and  only  when  it  passed 
away  did  we  begin  to  hear  clearly  the  angry  roar  of 
the  torrents  which  had  all  night  acted  as  an  undernote 
to  the  tempestuous  voices  of  the  gale.  As  soon  as  day- 
light came  —  such  wet  grey  daylight! — the  more  dar- 
ing crept  out  to  see  what  damage  had  been  done.  I 
was  joyfully  told  that  Cook  San's  dear  chimney  was 
none  the  worse,  and  I  believe  he  must  have  made 
Chisai  Cook  San  sit  on  the  roof  all  night  to  hold  it  in 
place.  But  other  things  had  not  been  so  fortunate. 
The  waterworks  were  badly  damaged ;  several  trees 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  81 

which  had  been  planted  symmetrically  beside  a  fence 
had  been  bowled  over  like  so  many  ninepins ;  the  road 
over  the  pass  was  gone  in  many  places,  the  one  to  the 
village  was  under  water  and  torn  to  shreds ;  while  our 
own  bridge  hung  over  the  main  torrent  on  one  crazy 
beam,  to  be  crept  across  with  breathless  care.  As  for 
the  tramway  and  the  telegraph  lines,  they  had  ceased 
to  exist,  and  for  five  days  after  that  visitation  not 
a  message  of  any  kind  reached  us,  and  our  supplies 
from  Tokyo  (on  which  we  mainly  depend  for  food) 
were  entirely  cut  off.  Our  poor  gardener,  who  sleeps 
in  the  village,  struggled  up  here  in  the  worst  of  the 
storm  to  see  if  he  could  do  anything  for  us ;  and 
Furihata,  our  dear  little  policeman,  behaved  gallantly. 
At  about  three  in  the  morning,  when  it  was  blowing 
great  guns,  I  heard  him  going  on  his  beat  round  the 
house,  and,  peeping  out  through  a  chink  in  the  shutters, 
saw  his  faithful  yellow  lantern  bobbing  about,  pro- 
tected in  some  ingenious  fashion  by  his  oilskin  cloak 
from  the  rain  and  wind.  He  came  up  again  after 
daylight  to  tell  us  about  the  dangerous  condition  of 
the  bridge,  and  to  say  that  it  should  be  mended  imme- 
diately ;  but  except  that  he  and  two  of  his  colleagues 
have  been  seen  staring  at  it  with  gravity,  no  steps  have 
been  taken  as  yet.  We  are  in  pleasing  uncertainty 
as  to  where  a  large  supply  of  wine,  some  new  clothes, 
and  a  quantity  of  groceries  have  gone  to,  and  I  begin 
to  understand  the  feelings  of  dear  Ben  Gunn  when  he 
longed  for  Christian  diet  on  Treasure  Island.  But  now 
the  country  is  looking  so  perfect  in  its  fresh  beauty 


82  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

after  the  rain  that  I  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  repining 
at  such  small  misfortunes.  A  harmless  breeze  is 
sweeping  the  soft  white  clouds  into  heaps  and  corners, 
the  sky  is  sapphire  blue  between ;  our  pond,  composed 
again,  is  reflecting  it  all  respectfully ;  and  the  air  is 
full  of  the  sound  of  the  leaping  streams,  which  are 
still  having  it  all  their  own  way  for  miles  around. 
Through  the  forest  I  hear  the  woodcutter  again  at 
work ;  and  farther  off,  below  the  stone  shrine  in  the 
green  hillside,  a  little  thread  of  smoke  rises  dreamy 
blue  above  the  pine-tops,  showing  that  the  charcoal- 
burner's  family  (I  discovered  them  in  one  of  my  walks) 
are  again  at  work. 

We  have  been  down  through  the  village  and  out 
across  the  plain  since  the  storm,  and  had  a  delightful 
sense  of  danger  in  picking  our  way  over  the  dancing 
bridge.  The  wise  dogs  refused  to  trust  themselves 
to  it,  and  all  except  Bess,  the  old  pointer,  had  to  be 
carried  across.  The  loose  lava  of  the  roads  makes 
them  like  long  ridges  of  rubble  after  the  floods  of 
last  week ;  but  the  cool  smell  of  everything  and  the 
whiff  of  vitality  in  the  air  make  up  for  a  little  rough 
walking. 

We  had  been  out  beyond  the  village,  and  were 
returning  towards  it,  when  a  funny  sight  met  our  eyes. 
A  bridge  at  the  farther  end  had  been  a  good  deal 
knocked  about  by  the  storm,  but  still  presented  a 
respectable  appearance.  I  saw  two  men  riding  towards 
it  from  the  opposite  side ;  they  were  smartly  dressed 
in  white  European  clothes  and  pith  helmets  such  as 


LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN  83 

our  inspector  wears  in  summer.  As  we  know  every 
soul  in  the  place,  I  was  curious  to  see  who  these 
strangers  were,  when  the  foremost  horse  stepped  gaily 
on  the  bridge.  Then  —  he  went  through  it,  at  least 
his  forefeet  did,  and  he  lay  amazed,  caught  in  the 
rotten  wood,  while  the  well-dressed  stranger  rolled  over 
his  head,  scrambled  to  his  feet,  and  turned  out  to  be 
our  cook  in  his  new  Sunday  clothes,  followed  by 
Kane,  the  artistic  pantry-boy,  dressed  exactly  like  him. 
Kane  turned  and  fled  —  why,  I  know  not,  since  there 
was  no  crime  in  hiring  a  horse  and  taking  a  ride, 
even  if  we  were  on  foot  at  the  time.  The  poor  Cook 
San  looked  most  uncomfortable,  but  pulled  his  steed 
up  bravely,  and  led  him  aside  while  we  passed.  I  only 
asked  him  if  he  had  hurt  himself,  and  denied  myself  the 
pleasure  of  looking  back  to  see  him  scramble  up  again. 
One  other  walk  we  have  had  since  the  storm,  up 
the  Usui  Toge,  to  pay  a  visit  to  some  friends  who  have 
taken  a  house  for  the  summer  in  the  hamlet  which 
crowns  the  pass.  The  road  was  in  many  places  a 
series  of  rifts,  over  which  we  had  to  scramble  as  we 
could ;  the  loose  tufa  soil  allows  the  rain  to  settle  and 
sink  through  the  surface  cracks,  and  when  the  water 
has  worked  a  yard  or  two  down,  the  slightest  shock 
detaches  the  whole  piece,  which  goes  rolling  off  into 
the  torrent  or  the  valley,  leaving  one  more  bare  scar 
on  the  mountain-side.  The  clearest  tramontana  wind 
blew  in  our  faces,  and  kept  us  cool,  though  it  was 
four  o'clock,  quite  the  hottest  hour  of  our  August 
day.  The  brooks  were  rushing  gloriously  down  the 


84  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

dells  and  gorges  through  which  the  path  winds  up, 
the  flowers  were  full  of  wet  sweetness  in  the  sun,  and 
the  landscape  was  like  one  great  washed  jewel  in  the 
afternoon  light.  Our  mountains,  great  volcanic  crags, 
with  their  feet  buried  in  soft  green  foothills,  were 
all  wreathed  in  golden  haze.  On  the  crest  of  the 
pass,  we  crept  out  on  a  dividing  spur,  a  flying  buttress 
of  the  mountains,  whence  all  the  plain  stretches  away 
on  the  left,  and  that  mass  of  rocks  called  the  Myogi 
San  (the  maiden  pass)  tosses  its  granite  breakers  off 
to  the  right.  Here  we  sat  long,  and  in  silence,  watch- 
ing the  rose  creep  into  the  gold,  the  purple  into  the 
rose,  and  some  one  said,  "  It  will  be  dark  in  half  an 
hour ; "  and  we  turned  to  hurry  down  the  steep  path 
while  some  daylight  remained. 

Like  many  another  beautiful  scene  in  Japan,  the 
heights  of  the  Usui  Toge  are  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  one  of  the  country's  heroes.  Yamato  Take,  or 
0-osu,  was  the  son  of  the  Emperor  Keiko,  who  came  to 
the  throne,  according  to  Japanese  chronology,  in  the  year 
71  of  our  era.  A  whole  edifice  of  stories  has  grown 
up  round  the  figure  of  the  heroic  Yamato,  and  some  of 
them  are  so  picturesque  that  they  are  worth  the  telling. 
Like  all  Japanese  heroes,  he  was  born  with  a  brave  and 
reckless  disposition ;  and  his  first  exploit,  performed  when 
he  was  a  mere  boy,  was  the  murder  of  his  elder  brother 
.for  some  infringement  of  Palace  etiquette  which  had 
displeased  their  father.  The  Emperor,  instead  of  be- 
wailing the  death  of  his  eldest  son,  seems  to  have 
regarded  the  circumstance  as  a  welcome  manifestation 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  85 

of  the  qualities  of  0-osu,  as  he  was  then  called,  and 
sent  him,  single-handed,  to  slay  two  fierce  outlaws  who 
were  spreading  terror  through  the  district  where  they 
had  their  lair.  0-osu  undertook  the  matter  gladly,  and 
brought  as  much  cunning  as  courage  to  the  task.  He 
was  still  so  young  and  slight  that  he  had  no  trouble  in 
passing  himself  off  as  a  girl.  Dressed  in  the  gorgeous 
robes  of  a  courtesan,  with  his  still  long  hair  hanging 
down  his  back,  he  came  smiling  into  their  cave  as  the 
two  robbers  were  feasting  one  autumn  night.  Surely 
they  were  glad  to  welcome  the  beautiful  girl,  who,  gay 
as  a  maple  in  its  crimson  dress,  passed  under  the  over- 
hanging boughs,  to  sing  sweet  songs  and  pledge  them 
in  wine  in  the  October  starlight.  But  where  the  heart 
should  have  been  beating  in  the  girl's  gentle  bosom  a 
sharp  short  sword  was  hid ;  and  as  0-osu  sat  between 
the  robbers,  the  lightning  of  his  sword  flashed  in  the 
air,  and  then  was  eclipsed  in  one  man's  life-blood.  He 
fell  dead;  and  his  companion,  terror-struck,  rushed  to 
the  opening  of  the  cave,  with  0-osu' s  clutch  already  on 
his  garments,  0-osu's  sword  already  biting  his  back. 
"  Pause,  0  Prince ! "  he  gasped,  as  he  fell  under  the 
boy's  feet.  "  Prince  thou  art  of  a  surety ;  but  whence, 
why  hast  thou  come  ? "  And  0-osu,  standing  above 
him  in  his  gay  dress,  more  crimson  now,  his  sword 
dripping  red  streams  down  his  upraised  arm,  told 
the  robber  that  he  was  the  avenger  of  evil,  the 
Emperor's  messenger  of  death  to  rebels.  "A  new  name 
shalt  thou  have,"  said  the  dying  robber.  "Hitherto  I 
and  my  dead  brother  there  were  called  the  bravest 


86  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

men  of  the  west.  To  thee,  august  child,  I  bequeath 
our  title.  Let  men  call  thee  the  bravest  in  Yamato!" 
Then  he  died. 

And  from  that  day  the  young  Prince  was  called 
Yamato  Take,  and  never  did  he  wrong  the  name.  The 
Emperor  sent  him  to  subdue  rebellious  tribes,  to  con- 
quer barbarians,  to  bring  the  hairy  Ainos  under  his 
father's  rule ;  and  since  he  was  pious  as  well  as  brave, 
and  always  entreated  the  help  of  his  ancestress,  Ama- 
terasu,  the  sun-goddess,  before  he  undertook  any  task, 
all  went  well  with  him  for  a  time.  Then  the  Emperor 
gave  him  the  command  to  go  and  subdue  the  savages 
of  the  east,  who  had  never  owned  a  master,  and  to 
overcome  their  gods.  Yamato  undertook  the  expedition  ; 
but  his  heart  was  heavy,  and  did  not  dance  in  his 
breast  as  it  was  wont  to  do  at  the  thought  of  battle 
and  carnage  and  victory.  So  he  went  to  the  shrine  of 
the  sun-goddess  at  Ise*,  where  his  aunt,  the  Princess 
Yamato,  was  high-priestess ;  and  she  offered  prayers 
for  him,  and  comforted  him  with  a  strange  gift,  a 
silken  bag,  richly  embroidered,  which  he  was  not  to 
open  save  in  extreme  peril.  And  after  bidding  her 
farewell,  he  went  his  way,  with  brave  companions  in 
arms,  and  one  woman,  his  wife,  who  loved  him  so 
dearly  that  she  counted  labour  and  privation  and 
danger  as  flowers  and  gold  for  his  sake.  But  Yamato 
was  cold  and  careless  to  her ;  and  if  she  seemed 
grieved,  he  would  say,  "It  is  thine  own  fault,  Oto 
Tachibana :  on  the  battlefield,  thoughts  of  war ;  on  the 
mats,  smiles  and  sake.  Go  back  to  thy  home,  Princess." 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  87 

But  she  would  not,  saying  to  herself,  "  My  august 
Lord  has  yet  somewhat  to  learn ;  and  that  I,  his  poor 
servant,  will  have  the  honour  of  teaching  him.  A 
Princess  of  Yamato  scorns  the  soft  mats  that  are  not 
pressed  by  her  Lord's  feet ;  she  does  not  smile  when  he 
goes  into  danger;  she  drinks  no  wine  while  his  sword 
drinks  blood.  I  go  with  my  Lord  into  the  battle." 

And  so,  leaving  all  her  luxury  and  ease,  dressed  in 
her  war  garments,  but  keeping  only  her  jewelled  comb 
in  her  long  hair,  Oto  Tachibana  went  with  the  Prince. 
And  as  they  travelled,  they  came  to  the  province 
called  Owari,  where  lived  the  fairest  woman  in  the 
world,  the  Princess  Miyadzu.  She  had  never  worn  the 
garments  of  war,  and  her  robes  were  gay  and  dazzling, 
her  face  white  as  the  jessamine  in  the  inner  room, 
and  her  hands  that  never  had  grasped  bow  or  spear 
were  delicate  as  the  stamens  of  the  lily.  Her  lotus 
feet  knew  not  the  rough  road  of  duty,  and  her  smile 
was  like  wine  to  the  wanton  in  heart.  Beside  her  Oto 
Tachibana,  with  her  worn  raiment  and  her  sunburnt 
brow,  seemed  a  peasant-girl,  a  thing  of  which  the  Prince 
was  ashamed.  So  he  said  nothing  of  her  being  his 
wife,  and  she  had  to  stand  silent  while  he  spoke 
aside  with  the  Princess  Miyadzu,  while  he  walked  in 
Miyadzu's  garden  and  drank  Miyadzu's  wine ;  and  she 
knew  that  he  had  made  Miyadzu  a  promise  that,  when 
his  work  was  done  and  the  savages  subdued,  he 
would  return  the  same  way  and  marry  her  in  state, 
and  take  her  to  rule  over  his  home  in  Yamato.  And 
even  as  he  spoke,  he  felt  Oto  Tachibana's  eyes  upon 


88  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

him,  and  he  turned  and  saw  her  looking  sadly  at  him, 
and  his  heart  became  cold ;  but  he  did  not  repent. 
He  said  farewell  to  Miyadzu  with  much  tenderness, 
and  rode  away  with  all  his  train,  Oto  Tachibana  carry- 
ing his  shield  and  making  no  sound,  for  she  was  a 
patient  and  noble  lady. 

I  cannot  stop  to  tell  you  all  the  strange  adventures 
that  he  encountered,  but  they  were  many ;  and  through 
all  his  wife  followed  him  faithfully,  and  spoke  not  a 
word  to  sadden  his  heart  or  take  away  his  courage. 
And  at  last  he  came  to  the  place  called  Sagami,  where 
the  land  runs  out  into  the  sea  on  both  sides,  and  the 
village  called  the  Door  of  the  Bay  lay  within.  And 
his  followers  sought  for  boats  wherein  he  could  cross 
the  sea;  and  he  scoffed,  saying,  "This  is  no  sea,  but 
a  brook !  I  could  jump  across  if  I  would!" 

Then  Riujin  and  the  other  sea-gods,  hearing  the 
insult,  were  angry,  and  caused  a  terrible  storm ;  and 
Yamato  Take  was  in  danger  of  death,  since  the  boat 
in  which  he  was  with  his  wife  and  his  followers  was 
tossed  from  wave  to  wave  in  the  fierce  tempest,  and 
he  rued  bitterly  his  insult  to  the  sea-gods.  Then  Oto 
Tachibana  spoke,  saying,  "  August  husband,  I  will 
appease  the  deities;  thy  bright,  honourable  life  shall 
be  saved."  And  she  caused  the  mats  from  the  sleeping- 
place  of  the  ship  to  be  thrown  on  the  waves,  and  she 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  junk,  and  grief  and  the 
storm-wind  had  washed  her  brow  white  from  sunburn 
and  war  stain,  and  the  lightning  played  in  her  eyes 
so  that  she  looked  bright  as  the  sun-goddess  in  the 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  91 

mirror  of  heaven ;  and  she  clasped  her  hands  above 
her  head,  and  cried,  "  In  truth  my  place  is  on  the  soft 
mats,  as  thou  didst  say  !  "  And  she  leapt  from  the  boat 
into  the  sea,  and  the  mats  received  her;  and  all  her 
garments  folded  decorously  around  her  as  she  sat,  and 
the  lightning  showed  her  to  the  Prince  as  the  waves 
carried  her  quickly  away;  and  then  the  storm  ceased, 
and  the  sea  was  still,  because  its  gods  were  appeased. 

Then  Yamato  Take  was  also  still,  and  in  silence 
he  and  his  followers  landed  on  the  farther  shore ;  and 
he  fought  as  he  had  never  fought  before,  penetrating 
into  the  lands  of  the  Yemishi,  the  hairy  barbarians,  and 
subduing  all  their  gods.  And  as  he  returned  towards 
Sagami,  he  stopped  on  the  top  of  the  pass  called  the 
Usui  Toge,  and  gazed  long  and  sadly  towards  the  sea 
where  Oto  Tachibana  had  given  her  life  for  his  sake. 
And,  thinking  of  all  her  faithfulness  which  he  had 
betrayed,  and  all  her  love  which  he  had  scorned,  he 
cried  out  bitterly,  "  Azuma,  Azuma,  ya ! "  (Oh,  my 
wife,  my  wife !).  And  ever  after,  all  that  province 
between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  was  called  Azuma, 
even  as  it  is  at  this  day. 

As  for  Oto  Tachibana,  the  storm  took  her,  and  she 
never  was  seen  again;  but  her  jewelled  comb  was 
brought  to  shore  by  the  sea-king's  daughter,  and 
Yamato  Take  built  a  great  mausoleum  over  it  to  her 
memory. 

And  what  became  of  Yamato  Take  ?  you  say,  as 
you  read  my  letter  aloud  under  the  Barberini  pines, 
looking  across  another  plain  to  another  sea.  Well,  he 


92  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

was  a  man,  yon  know ;  so  he  went  back  to  the  Princess 
Miyadzu  afterwards.  But  she  seemed  less  beautiful  to 
him  now,  and  soon  he  went  off  to  fight  more  barbarians, 
being  born  a  fighter,  who  breathed  best  in  carnage.  But 
he  died  at  thirty-two,  as  he  was  struggling  back  to  the 
Temple  of  Ise,  to  beg  Yamato  Kime,  his  aunt,  to  pray 
that  he  might  be  cured  of  a  grievous  sickness  which 
had  come  upon  him.  He  reached  it  not,  and  the  death- 
agony  found  him  under  a  lonely  pine  tree  at  Otsu,  near 
Owari.  And  as  he  lay  dying  he  made  a  poem,  and 
called  the  single  pine  tree  his  elder  brother,  to  whom 
he  would  gladly  leave  his  sword  of  honour  and  his 
warrior's  dress.  And  he  seemed  to  gain  strength  from 
the  kindly  pine,  and  crept  on  farther,  but  died  in  the 
open  fields,  far  from  the  shrine  of  Ise.  But  some  of 
his  friends  were  with  him ;  for  by  one  he  sent  his  sword 
and  bequeathed  the  spoils  of  his  last  conquest  to  the 
holy  shrine  of  the  sun-goddess,  who  was  his  ancestress. 
By  another  he  sent  a  message  to  his  father,  to  tell  him 
that  all  his  commands  had  been  carried  out,  and  that 
he  grieved  at  not  being  able  to  bring  the  report  him- 
self, but  that  he  "cared  no  longer  for  life,  and  lay 
dying  in  the  sweet  open  fields." 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

THE  CHARCOAL-BURNER  LOSES  HIS  WAY.  —  "A  MISTAKE  NO 
CRIME."  —  INVASION!  —  PILGRIMS  AND  THEIR  WAYS. — 
PILGRIM  CLUBS.  —  AN  ENTERPRISING  OLD  LADY 

KARUIZAWA,  September,  1890. 

Ij  EXACTLY  eight  days  after  our  first  typhoon,  we 
-*— ^  had  a  second  edition  of  it,  which  really  worked 
fearful  havoc  among  the  hills,  where  the  soil  of  the 
paths  has  been  torn  and  rubble  loosened  by  the  first 
visitation.  Our  bridge  went  altogether  this  time ;  but 
fortunately  we  found  that  there  is  a  little  one  where 
the  stream  is  much  smaller,  through  the  deep  hedge  at 
the  far  end  of  our  garden.  The  chief  bridge  is  now 
being  rebuilt ;  and  meanwhile  we  have  had  to  let  peo- 
ple pass  by  the  little  one,  which  is  intended  as  a  short 
cut  to  the  path  leading  off  to  the  charcoal-burner's 
establishment.  On  a  misty  night  or  after  an  extra 
cup  of  sake"  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  the  paths.  One 
rather  cloudy  evening  following  on  a  rainy  day,  we  were 
sitting  on  the  verandah  as  usual  after  dinner,  when  a 
lantern,  evidently  in  a  state  of  extreme  excitement, 
appeared  far  down  the  garden  path.  I  never  saw  a 
lantern  behave  so  curiously.  First  it  waved  about  in 
the  au*,  then  it  sank  to  the  ground,  then  it  swung 


94  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

from  side  to  side.  As  it  came  nearer,  it  was  carried 
low,  and  illuminated  two  extremely  shaky  brown  legs, 
which  staggered  from  side  to  side,  tottered,  recovered 
themselves,  then  began  it  all  over  again.  We  sat  in 
amused  silence  while  this  strange  creature  appeared 
and  disappeared  among  the  shrubs,  and  at  last  came 
close  to  the  verandah  steps  and  revealed  its  whole  iden- 
tity. The  light  crept  up  from  the  round  paper  lantern 
over  a  sturdy  body,  very  poorly  dressed,  and  crowned  by 
a  sleepy  face  full  of  irresponsible  smiles  —  a  face  which 
waggled  joyfully  from  side  to  side,  and  was  the  colour 
of  old  wood ;  in  fact,  our  neighbour  the  charcoal-burner, 
royally  drunk. 

"  This  is  a  very  good  house,"  he  remarked ;  "  better 
than  the  Bansho  Kwan"  (the  village  inn). 

"What  do  you  want?"  Mr.  G asked.  "You 

have  mistaken  the  road  to  your  house." 

"  No,"  replied  our  visitor,  shaking  his  head  as  gravely 
as  he  could,  —  "no  mistake.  House  want,  house  find. 
Rain  soon.  Stay  here." 

He  seemed  about  to  sit  down  on  the  verandah,  when 
some  of  the  servants  appeared ;  the  man  spoke  in  a 
loud  excited  way,  and  they  had  heard  the  strange  voice. 

"  You  have  lost  your  way,"  Mr.  G repeated ; 

"  this  is  not  an  inn.  You  shall  be  accompanied  till  you 
find  the  right  path." 

Then  Rinzo  and  Uma,  looking  much  amused,  took 
each  an  arm  of  the  stray  lamb.  Rinzo  relieved  him  of 
his  lantern,  and  they  walked  him  down  the  path,  he 
talking  excitedly  all  the  time  about  the  Bansho  Kwan, 


LETTERS  FROM   JAPAX  95 

where  he  said  there  had  been  a  wedding  feast,  and  just 
a  little  —  oh!  very  little  —  sake  for  everybody.  And, 
indeed,  he  did  not  care  to  go  away,  although  such 
honourable  persons  deigned  to  accompany  him ;  for  this 
was  better  than  the  Bansho  Kwan  —  much  better  than 
the  Bansho  Kwan.  His  voice  died  off  in  the  distance ; 
and  in  about  ten  minutes  our  men  came  back,  saying 
that  they  had  put  him  in  the  right  path,  and  he  could 
make  no  mistakes  now ;  besides,  it  was  beginning  to 
rain,  and  that  would  sober  him,  they  thought. 

The  rain  did  not  touch  us  under  our  broad  verandah, 
so  we  sat  on  for  some  time,  talking  of  everything  under 
the  sun,  and  unwilling  to  go  and  sit  near  the  hot  lamps 
in  the  drawing-room.  The  rain  fell  in  soft  splashes  in 
our  pond,  and  the  trees  began  to  talk,  as  they  always 
do  when  there  is  rain  enough  to  drop  from  branch  to 
branch.  The  air  was  almost  too  sweet  from  the  masses 
of  LiUum  auratum,  which  mark  our  real  midsummer  in 
the  hills.  The  gardener  stands  them,  in  huge  sheaves, 
in  straight  jars  a  yard  high,  in  the  doorways  and 
verandahs ;  and  we  were  telling  wonderful  tales  of 
pink  lilies,  brown  lilies,  yellow  lilies,  when  —  that  same 
crazy  lantern  appeared  coming  towards  the  house,  still 
more  erratically  than  before.  As  it  approached,  the 
sound  of  heavy  steps  dragging  over  the  wet  pebbles 
made  itself  heard  between  some  indistinct  remarks 
about  the  Bansho  Kwan  —  our  friend  the  charcoal- 
burner  again !  He  was  much  tipsier  than  he  had  been 
an  hour  before,  and  came  with  something  of  a  swagger 
up  the  wet,  slippery  path. 


96  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

"Good  house  —  much  rain  —  very  wet.  This  is  a 
bright  house,  good  for  a  man  to  stay  in  —  much  better 
than  the  Bansho  Kwan  !  " 

"  Go  home  at  once,"  said  Mr.  G ,  who  thought 

he  was  not  so  tipsy  as  he  seemed.  "  You  must  have 
been  drinking  a  great  deal  of  sake  not  to  know  that 
you  are  making  a  mistake." 

"A  mistake  no  crime,"  replied  the  charcoal-burner. 
"  No  "  (this  to  Rinzo,  who  took  his  arm),  "  I  will  not  go 
away ;  why  should  a  poor  man  be  sent  away  ?  Why 
should  a  poor  man  be  scolded  because  he  loses  his 
way  ?  Is  it  a  crime  to  lose  one's  way  ?  Oh  no !  I 
will  stay  here  —  here!" 

The  servants  were  just  about  to  remove  him  firmly, 
in  spite  of  his  violent  protestations,  when  Furihata's 
highly  official  lantern  marched  quickly  up  the  path ;  and 
at  the  sight  of  his  cap  and  white  gloves  the  poor  tipsy 
intruder  collapsed,  and  began  to  weep  over  his  pitiful 
fate.  He  was  carried  off  at  last,  still  wailing  about  the 
nice  house  that  was  so  very  much  better  than  the 
Bansho  Kwan ;  and  when  the  servants  returned,  they 
said  that  the  stern  Furihata  had  put  the  poor  sinner 
comfortably  to  bed  on  the  mats  of  the  police  station, 
where,  as  I  was  afterwards  told,  he  woke  up  good  and 
happy  the  next  morning,  and  got  home  successfully  by 
daylight. 

Our  garden  entrance  looks  so  like  a  piece  of  the  road, 
that  strangers  and  pilgrims  constantly  turn  into  it,  and 
come  wandering  up  to  the  house,  which  some  of  them 
take  for  a  foreign  hotel.  One  evening,  when  we  re- 


LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAX 


97 


turned  very  late  from  some  expedition,  we  were  told 
that  two  English  gentlemen,  riding  down  the  pass,  had 
entered  the  house,  and  ordered  two  bedrooms  and  din- 
ner ;  they  took  Dinsmore  for  the  proprietor,  and  were 
greatly  overcome  when  they 
found  that  they  had  invaded  a 
fellow-countryman's  private 
castle.  Some  friends  of  ours, 
who  have  built  a  charming  cot- 
tage at  Chusenji,  above  Nikko, 
told  me  that  last  summer  two 
hot  and  weary  Englishmen  burst 
into  their  house,  and  informed 
the  astonished  servant  that  break- 
fast for  twelve  people  must  be 
ready  in  half  an  hour;  the  rest 
of  the  party  were  on  the  road. 
They  would  have  an  omelette, 
beefsteaks,  Kirin  beer,  and  I 
know  not  how  much  more.  But 
by  the  time  they  had  gone  into 
these  details,  the  Japanese  "boy" 
had  remembered  three  words  of 
English.  He  bowed  politely,  and  then  said,  "This  — 
European  —  house  !  "  The  unlucky  intruders  fled  with- 
out saying  another  word,  and  probably  found  all  they 
wanted  at  the  excellent  inn  a  few  hundred  yards  farther 
up  the  path. 

Since   I  have   spoken   of    the  pilgrims,   let   me   tell 
you  something  about  them  ;  for  they  go  by  us  in  great 


HAKMI,  A  SAGE  WHO 
FLOATED  TO  JAPAN 
THROUGH  THE  WATER 


98  LETTERS   FKOM   JAPAN 

bands  at  this  time  of  year,  and  are  certainly  the  most 
picturesque  and  cheery  devotees  that  ever  walked.  On 
the  road  that  leads  up  the  pass,  there  is  a  spot  where 
an  old  tree  has  fallen,  and  makes  a  pleasant  seat. 
Beyond,  the  path  is  steeper,  and  turns  in  to  follow  the 
trend  of  a  gorge  whose  sides  are  all  a  tangle  of  wild 
forest.  Sitting  here  to  rest  in  the  breathless  afternoon, 
we  hear  the  phantom  of  a  sound,  the  tinkle  of  a  bell 
so  far  off  on  the  hillside  that  it  sounds  unreal,  inter- 
mittent, and  we  strain  our  ears  to  catch  it  again.  Yes, 
it  is  a  little  nearer  now  —  now  nearer  still.  A  little 
farther  up,  the  road  is  broken  by  the  storms ;  and  now 
passing  feet  are  sending  the  loose  rubble  leaping  down 
the  slope  in  little  showers.  Now  a  chant  is  wafted  to 
us,  with  the  deep  note  of  the  bell ;  and  in  a  moment  a 
strange-looking  train  comes  out  of  the  green  leafage 
and  winds  down  the  hill.  There  are  nine  of  them  to- 
day, and  they  are  bound  for  Zenkogi,  the  great  Temple 
at  Nagano ;  their  dress  is  that  of  pilgrims  who  ascend 
the  holy  mountains;  and  there  are  no  women  among 
them.  The  foremost  is  a  tall  handsome  man,  who 
carries  a  straight  wooden  standard,  with  strange  char- 
acters painted  black  on  its  whiteness.  He,  like  all 
those  who  follow  him,  is  dressed  in  pure  white,  with 
sacred  characters  printed  on  the  cotton.  The  close- 
fitting  leggings  are  white  too,  and  finish  with  tabi  and 
straw  sandals,  waraji,  which  may  be  bought  for  next  to 
nothing  at  every  tea-house,  and  are  seldom  worn  more 
than  through  one  day's  march.  The  pilgrim's  robe  is 
closely  kilted  up  through  his  cotton  girdle,  which,  tight 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  101 

as  it  is,  holds  his  money,  his  pipe,  and  any  other  valu- 
ables that  he  must  carry.  To  the  belt  is  attached  that 
soft  tinkling  bell  which  gave  us  the  signal  of  his  com- 
ing ;  and  on  his  head  is  a  huge  mushroom  hat,  made  of 
lightest  pith  or  shavings,  and  resting  over,  but  not  on, 
the  head  by  means  of  a  bamboo  circle,  from  which 
spring  light  supports,  so  that  the  air  passes  in  under 
the  white  umbrella.  The  hat  is  marked  with  the  same 
ideograph  that  is  stamped  on  his  clothes,  probably  the 
name  of  the  pilgrim  club  of  his  village  or  district ;  and 
on  his  shoulders  he  wears  a  piece  of  matting,  which 
hangs  round  his  neck  by  a  string.  This  is  his  rain- 
cloak,  his  seat,  his  bed,  arid  is  called  the  goza.  Then 
in  his  hand  he  carries  a  staff,  with  several  names 
burnt  into  it  —  the  names  of  the  shrines  he  has  vis- 
ited ;  and  a  flask  hangs  at  his  side,  in  which  he  can 
bring  home  some  of  the  water  of  a  sacred  lake  or 
pond,  such  as  many  of  the  sanctuaries  possess.  His 
sleeves  are  as  tightly  tied  up  as  his  skirts ;  and  al- 
though the  costume  may  sound  strange  thus  described 
in  detail,  yet  nothing  could  look  lighter  or  be  more 
appropriate  for  the  purpose  of  long  walking  in  the 
heat. 

I  have  described  one  man's  dress,  and  have  thus 
described  the  rest ;  for  they  are  all  alike,  this  being 
the  prescribed  uniform  for  climbing  the  high  and  holy 
peaks.  The  train  looked  wonderfully  cool  and  pictu- 
resque coming  out  from  the  green  foliage  of  the  woods. 
The  first  man  had  a  handsome  face,  very  bronzed  and 
healthy,  with  bright  eyes,  which  glanced  curiously  at  us, 


102  LETTEES  FROM   JAPAN 

although  he  did  not  break  off  the  chant  in  which  he 
was  leading  the  rest  —  a  chant  which  is  a  constant 
repetition  of  one  phrase :  "  Rokkon  Shojo,  Oyama 
Kaisei"  (May  our  six  senses  be  pure,  and  honourable 
mountain  weather  fine).  Behind  him  came  a  boy; 
then  an  old  man,  who  must  have  made  many  pilgrim- 
ages, and  is  perhaps  near  the  last  of  all;  then  a  pros- 
perous-looking tradesman;  after  him  an  ascetic,  with 
pale  face  and  immovable  expression.  The  pilgrim  club 
sends  people  from  the  counter  and  the  factory,  as  well 
as  from  the  farm  and  the  rice-field,  to  tramp  the  holy 
roads  together,  and  bring  back  blessings  for  the  rest 
of  the  villagers  or  townsfolk,  too  busy  or  too  old  or 
too  weak  to  perform  the  pilgrimage  for  themselves. 

The  pilgrim  clubs  are  institutions  existing  all  through 
the  country,  to  enable  even  the  very  poor  to  visit  holy 
places,  and  to  get  an  immense  amount  of  change  and 
amusement  and  interest  on  the  way.  Hundreds  of 
people  (and  often  thousands)  belong  to  a  club,  which 
can  be  started  anywhere  by  anybody  who  chooses  to 
obtain  permission  to  do  so  from  the  authorities  of  his 
particular  sect  (and  sects  are  numberless),  and  who  has 
the  energy  or  the  necessary  personality  to  get  his 
friends  to  join  him.  A  tiny  entrance  fee  of  a  few  cents 
is  required,  and  the  subscription  varies  from  eight  to 
fifteen  cents  a  year.  When  all  the  expenses  are  paid, 
the  remaining  money  is  raffled  for,  and  the  winners 
(perhaps  2  or  3  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number)  spend 
their  gains  on  the  pilgrimage ;  but  no  one  is  debarred 
from  going  at  his  own  expense  if  he  pleases.  The 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  103 

president  of  the  club  is  always  the  leader,  and  his 
expenses  are  paid  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  knows 
the  road,  he  knows  the  shrines  and  the  priests  and  the 
innkeepers ;  but  he  is  not  required  to  see  to  actual 
payments,  a  treasurer  being  elected,  who  has  to  give  an 
account  of  all  these.  The  inns  take  pilgrims  at  reduced 
.prices,  and  the  cost  of  even  a  very  long  expedition  is 
so  tiny  that  we  Europeans  in  our  stupid  vulgar  ex- 
travagance would  hardly  know  that  we  had  spent  it 
at  all.  It  is  a  matter  of  cents,  and  yet  the  Japanese 
manages  to  get  weeks  of  travelling  on  it,  to  visit  one 
holy  or  historical  spot  (it  is  the  same  thing  very  often 
in  his  country)  after  another,  and  to  make  acquaintance 
with  endless  numbers  of  his  countrymen,  all  bound, 
during  the  few  summer  weeks  of  pilgrimage-time,  on 
the  same  errand. 

As  the  pilgrimages  are  really  made  on  foot,  of 
course  the  summer  months  are  usually  chosen,  as  the 
fine  weather  and  long  days  add  greatly  to  the  pleasure 
of  tramping  through  the  country;  indeed,  the  shrines 
on  the  peaks  can  only  be  visited  between  the  middle 
of  July  and  the  beginning  of  September.  Then  the 
rest-houses  are  opened,  the  roads  have  been  mended, 
the  tea-houses  are  all  ready  to  receive  the  guests,  and 
the  mountain  is  called  "open."  There  are  many  holy 
peaks;  but  of  all,  Fuji  is  the  greatest,  and  the  ascent 
the  most  painful.  Women  belong  to  the  pilgrim  clubs, 
and  have  also  clubs  of  their  own ;  but  they  are  not 
allowed  (were  not  would  be  a  better  word)  to  mount  to 
the  summit.  They  were  considered  too  common,  made 


104 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


of  too  base  a  stuff,  to  tread  the  sacred  ground  of  the 
mountain's  crest,  and  were  stopped  at  some  distance 

from  it ;  and  in 
consequence  they 
flocked  to  the  low- 
land shrines, 
where  they  are 
welcomed  and 
made  to  feel  at 
home.  They  travel 
constantly  to  the 
great  Temple  of 
Zenkogi,  which 
lies  to  our  west 
in  the  town  of 
Nagano ;  and  to 
judge  by  their 
beaming  faces  and 
happy  chatter, 
they  must  enjoy 
the  expedition 
mightily,  though 
most  of  them  are 
old  and  grey,  hav- 
ing handed  over 

AN    OLD    WOMAN    PILGRIM 

household  cares  to 

the  useful  daughter-in-law,  and  feeling  now  free  to 
attend  to  their  souls  and  their  amusement.  I  once 
asked  one  of  our  servants  about  his  mother  —  how  she 
passed  her  time,  what  her  occupations  were.  "  No 


LETTEliS   FROM   JAPAN  105 

work ;  she  not  work  now  —  too  much  old !  Little 
temple  go,  little  theatre  go  —  very  happy!" 

The  "  O'Bassans "  of  the  pilgrim  parties  are  often 
accompanied  by  a  grandchild,  a  bright  little  maid  of 
tw.elve  or  thirteen,  who  waits  on  her  grandmother,  and 
stares  amazed  at  barbarians  like  ourselves.  It  is  sur- 
prising to  find  how  far  these  old  women  and  little 
girls  can  walk,  carrying  all  their  baggage  in  humble 
bundles  —  such  tiny  bundles  !  Some  of  them  seem  to 
be  as  little  troubled  with  luggage  as  a  migrating  swal- 
low. 

So  in  the  pleasant  summer-time,  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land,  the  roads  are  all  alive  with 
gay  parties  of  people  visiting  the  shrines  of  their  own 
sect,  and  then  those  of  any  other  sects  which  seem 
attractive  or  profitable.  For  in  the  curiously  mixed 
condition  of  religious  ideas,  sect  becomes  confused  with 
sect,  not  in  principle,  but  in  personality ;  for  a  person 
may  belong  to  more  than  one  at  a  time  without  preju- 
dice to  either.  Some  pious  persons  spend  their  whole 
time  in  making  pilgrimages ;  but  I  must  say  that  this 
kind  of  piety  does  not  seem  to  interfere  with  their 
catching  cheerfully  at  every  straw  of  amusement  that 
comes  along.  There  is  also,  I  fancy,  much  respect 
and  consideration  shown  to  pilgrims  after  they  return 
to  their  own  villages,  and  for  all  their  lives  they  will 
rank  higher  in  their  townsmen's  estimation  than  the 
people  who  have  never  performed  them.  A  pilgrimage 
confers  a  kind  of  diploma  of  holiness,  and  is  also  a 
claim  on  the  gratitude  of  the  stayers  at  home,  since 


106  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

it  is  hoped  that  the  blessings  prayed  for  by  two  or 
three  at  the  distant  shrine  will  descend  individually 
and  richly  on  the  generous  subscribers  who  enabled 
them  to  visit  the  sanctuary. 

Very  different  are  the  laughing  bands  of  the 
Japanese  pilgrim  clubs  to  the  companies  one  meets 
just  across  the  water,  in  China,  where  people  never 
laugh.  There  is  an  eminently  holy  temple  near 
Ningpo,  where  day  after  day,  year  after  year,  tottering 
painfully  on  the  horrible  swollen  hoofs  which  are  the 
inevitable  evolution  in  age  of  the  "golden  lilies,"  the 
broken  feet  of  childhood,  bands  of  forlorn  old  women 
come  with  prayers  and  tears  to  entreat  the  merciful 
gods  that  in  their  next  transmigration  their  crushed 
womanhood  may  be  laid  aside,  and  that  they  may 
return  —  as  men. 

We  stood  aside  one  day  to  let  some  pilgrims  pass 
us  on  the  road.  One  of  the  men  could  hardly  get 
past  me  at  all,  overcome  with  amazement  at  his  first 
sight  of  a  blue-eyed  creature  in  strange  garments,  the 
foreign  barbarian  woman.  The  road  was  rough,  and 
he  stumbled  heavily  almost  at  my  feet.  His  com- 
panion laughed  heartily.  "  That  is  what  comes  of 
staring  at  the  elder  sister!"  he  cried;  but  the  aston- 
ished one  picked  himself  up,  passed  on  and  out  of 
sight  with  his  head  turned  and  his  eyes  still  fixed  on 
myself,  as  if  expecting  to  see  me  turn  into  a  fox  on 
the  spot,  or  send  my  head  after  him  like  the  snake- 
woman  of  the  Japanese  ghost  story. 

We   had   a   visit   from   a   dear   old   woman    pilgrim 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  107 

one  day,  as  we  were  sitting  at  afternoon  tea  out  of 
doors.  She  was  very  old,  and  partially  blind ;  but  in 
spite  of  this  was  evidently  the  leader  of  two  younger 
women  who  accompanied  her.  They  were  all  peasants, 
burnt  in  face  and  limb  from  long  standing  in  the 
rice-fields  under  the  scorching  sun.  The  old  lady  had 
her  skirts  kilted  very  high,  and  a  blue  towel  tied 
coquettishly  round  her  head.  As  she  came  up  the 
path,  she  seemed  to  share  the  feelings  of  the  lost 
charcoal-burner;  for  she  kept  exclaiming,  "How  beau- 
tiful, how  grand!  Whose  is  this  honourable  beautiful 
house  ? "  The  servant  explained ;  and  then  she  said 
that  it  was  the  first  time  she  had  seen  a  foreign 
house,  or  garden :  might  she  humbly  ask  that  she  and 
her  companions  should  be  allowed  to  stay  a  little  and 
look  at  it  ?  Of  course  she  might !  So  she  went  over 
the  funny  little  domain,  and  looked  with  the  greatest 
interest  at  the  cooking  arrangements,  and  inquired  if 
that  honourable  animal  (the  Brown  Ambassador)  with 
the  honourably  long  tail  were  really  an  honourable 
dog?  Makotoni?  Sodeska?  What  great  and  wonder- 
ful people  these  honourable  foreigners  are,  to  be  sure ! 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

THE   AUTUMN    TYPHOON. — THE    LOSS    OF    THE    "  ERTOGROUL. " 
—  LEGENDS     OF    FUJI.  —  THE    GREAT    UPHEAVAL.  —  CHI- 
NESE   TRADITION    AND    THE     SACRED     MOUNTAIN.  —  THE 
STORY   OF   JOFUKU.  —  THE   LOTUS    PEAK 

TOKYO,  October,  1890. 

OUR  return  to  Tokyo  was  followed  by  the  usual 
autumn  typhoon,  more  destructive  than  ever  this 
year.  The  catastrophe  which  has  saddened  us  most 
was  the  loss  of  the  Ertogroul,  a  Turkish  battle-ship, 
which  went  down  with  the  admiral  and  five  hundred  and 
fifty  men.  The  poor  admiral  was  always  afraid  that 
something  would  happen  to  his  horrible  old  tub  with 
her  worn-out  engines,  and  only  a  short  time  ago  was 
heard  to  say  that  she  could  not  possibly  live  through 
a  bad  typhoon.  He  had  warned  the  authorities  at  home 
of  the  state  of  the  vessel,  and  solemnly  rejected  any 
responsibility  for  what  might  occur.  He  was  a  charming 
man,  and  had  made  himself  so  much  liked  here  that  the 
tragedy  has  cast  quite  a  gloom  over  our  small  circle. 
He  had  fifty  cadets  on  board,  and  they  were  all  lost. 
About  sixty  of  the  men  were  rescued,  and  have  been 
treated  with  the  greatest  kindness  by  the  Japanese.  A 
Russian  man-of-war  offered  to  take  the  poor  fellows 

108 


LETTERS   FROM    JAPAN  109 

home,  and  the  offer  was  accepted  by  the  Cabinet,  and 
went  up  to  the  Emperor  to  be  approved.  To  every  one's 
surprise,  the  Emperor  was  most  indignant ;  the  men, 
he  said,  were  his  guests,  and  as  such  they  should  be 
taken  home  in  one  of  his  own  battle-ships  with  all  the 
honours.  This  is  accordingly  to  be  done.  Our  own 
fleet  gathers  in  force  just  at  this  time,  before  going  south 
into  winter  quarters,  and  we  have  been  very  busy.  It 
is  rather  an  imposing  sight,  when  the  European  squad- 
rons are  all  gathered  in  Yokohama  Harbour. 

I  am  always  glad  to  return  to  Tokyo,  and  to  greet 
Fuji  San  from  my  windows  once  more.  With  all  the 
splendid  scenery  of  the  hills,  I  miss  the  great  white 
mountain  when  we  are  in  Karuizawa,  and  feel  more  at 
home  in  Japan  when  its  perfect  outline  is  the  first  thing 
I  see  in  the  morning,  the  last  at  night.  There  are 
a  thousand  beautiful  stories  told  about  the  mountain  ; 
they  hang  round  its  name  as  the  mists  hang  round  its 
feet,  and  the  love  and  reverence  of  a  hundred  centuries 
have  wrapped  it  in  a  mystic  robe  of  holiness,  so  that 
to  look  at  it  is  to  have  the  mind  raised  to  higher  things, 
whether  one  will  or  no. 

There  is  a  strange  legend  of  the  origin  of  Fuji,  which 
connects  it  with  Lake  Biwa,  the  Lake  of  the  Lute,  a 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  distant,  in  the  province  of 
Omi.  Many  a  pleasure-boat  full  of  laughing  girls  glides 
over  its  surface  in  the  harvest  moonlight ;  and  the  girls 
slip  back  their  long  sleeves,  and,  leaning  over  the  side, 
gather  the  water  in  the  palms  of  their  hands,  and  let  it 
slide  through  their  fingers,  or  throw  it  in  silver  showers 


110  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

on  the  dusky  face  of  the  night,  each  saying  in  her 
heart,  "  Now  are  my  hands  full  of  the  sacred  snows  of 
Fuji  San !  "  And  perhaps  at  the  same  moment,  far  away 
in  Hakone,  a  gyoja,  or  mountain-worshipper,  standing 
on  Fuji's  crest  after  a  long  day's  climbing,  stoops  and 
takes  up  a  handful  of  snow,  and  bathes  his  face  with  its 
whiteness,  crying  out,  "  Now  am  I  washing  in  the  holy 
water  of  Lake  Biwa  !  " 

And  to  understand  the  legend  we  must  go  back 
to  the  dawn  of  time.  Many  gods  had  there  been  in 
reed-grown  Japan ;  but  they  were  not  immortal,  and 
faded  away  with  the  fading  seasons,  scattered  on  the 
air  as  the  soft-blown  down  is  scattered  when  rush-heads 
break  their  velvet  coverings  and  a  million  winged 
seedlings  wanton  in  the  breeze.  But  at  last  came  the 
god  Izanami,  and  he  said,  "  Where  now  all  is  water 
among  the  reeds,  we  will  make  dry  land !  "  So,  stand- 
ing on  the  sevenfold  radiance  of  the  Bridge  of  Heaven, 
which  we  call  the  rainbow,  Izanami  plunged  his  coral- 
pointed  spear  down,  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea; 
and  when  he  drew  it  up  again,  little  portions  of  sand 
and  mud  were  hanging  on  it.  These  he  threw  on  the 
reed-grown  land,  the  land  of  twilight  and  water  shadows 
and  changing  lights,  where  the  moon  danced  among 
the  reeds,  and  the  sun  stayed  not,  since  there  was 
nought  for  him  to  ripen  in  that  bowl  of  tears.  So 
Izanami  shook  the  sea  relics  from  his  spear,  and  they 
spread  out  in  the  form  of  a  dragon-fly,  and  made  fair 
dry  country,  full  of  rich  growths,  and  smiling  hi  the 
sun.  Then  the  god  said :  "  It  is  well ;  and  these  green 


LETTERS    FROM    .JAPAN  113 

lands  shall  be  called  Akitsusu,  the  Islands  of  the  Dragon- 
Fly.  Now  let  us  fill  them  with  men,  like  ourselves,  but 
not  immortal." 

Then  he  called  the  great  goddess  Izanagi,  his  con- 
sort, and  she  came  willingly  at  the  sound  of  his  voice 
out  of  her  house  among  the  stars ;  and  he  said  to  her, 
"  Come,  and  behold  the  country  I  have  made."  And 
together  they  descended  to  the  land,  and  separated, 
Izanami  walking  towards  the  sun,  and  Izanagi  towards 
the  moon ;  and  they  met,  face  to  face,  after  walking  for 
many  days.  And  Izanagi,  rejoiced  to  see  her  Lord  after 
the  days  of  loneliness,  leaped  forward  towards  him, 
crying  out,  "  Oh,  joy  to  behold  the  beautiful  god  !  "  But 
her  husband  was  displeased,  and  said,  "  Dost  thou  speak 
first  ?  That  is  unfitting  in  a  woman.  Walk  round  the 
islands  once  more,  and  repent  thy  immodesty ! "  So, 
weeping,  Izanagi  passed  him,  and  walked  many  days, 
weeping  at  his  rebuff;  and  because  of  her  copious  tears 
Akitsusu  is  a  land  of  many  streams  and  wet  fields.  And 
she  said  in  her  heart :  "  Is  not  my  Lord  right  ?  Never 
shall  he  reproach  me  again  ! "  And  at  last  they  met, 
face  to  face,  in  a  green  meadow,  at  the  time  of  the 
sunrising.  And  Izanagi  stood  still,  and  the  dawn  mists 
were  round  her  feet,  and  the  sunrise  on  her  brow ;  and 
she  bowed  her  head  in  reverence.  And  her  husband, 
seeing  her  submission  and  modesty,  sprang  towards  her, 
crying  out,  "  Now,  indeed,  do  I  behold  a  beauteous 
woman ! "  And  Izanagi  wept  no  more,  but  smiled  on 
the  wise  god  her  husband;  and  he  and  she  remained 
in  the  new  country  until  she  had  borne  him  many  sons 


114 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


and  daughters, 
and  the  land 
was  peopled 
with  their  chil- 
dren, to  whom 
they  taught  the 
true  wisdom  of 
the  gods. 

At  that  time 
the  land  was  all 
one  great  plain, 
and  there  were 
no  mountains 
and  no  lakes. 
Where  the 
water  lay,  the 
people  made 
rich  rice-fields ; 
and  where  the 
soil  was  dry, 
grew  splendid 
forests;  and  all 
the  foundations 
of  the  '  coun- 
try were  bound 
together  in 
strength  by  wist- 
aria roots,  which 
stretch  but  break  not.  And  at  last  Izanami  and  Izanagi 
said  farewell  to  their  children,  and  sailed  away  to  found- 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  REEDS  AND  SHADOWS 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  115 

and  people  other  lands.  Centuries  brought  more  and 
more  power  and  splendour  to  the  Islands  of  the  Dragon- 
Fly,  and  then  —  the  great  earthquake  came.  One  night 
the  world  was  shaken  to  its  foundations ;  all  its  bands 
of  roots  and  armour  of  rocks  could  hold  it  together  no 
longer.  The  sea  seemed  to  be  pouring  down  upon  it 
from  the  sky;  the  sound  of  the  storm  was  as  the  battling 
of  dragons;  darkness  lay  on  the  land,  and  black  fear  on 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  That  night  seemed  to  them 
longer  than  a  year  of  famine  ;  and  when  morning  dawned 
at  last,  many  a  head  was  white  which  had  shone  black 
the  day  before.  But  the  morning  was  clear  and  peaceful, 
and  Amaterasu,  the  sun-goddess,  smiled  on  earth  and 
sea,  making  all  things  white-faced  in  her  shining.  The 
people  of  Omi  went  out  over  the  plain  to  till  their 
rice-fields  as  usual,  and  as  they  went  they  shook  their 
heads,  fearing  to  find  much  damage  done  to  the  tender 
rice ;  but  when  the}"  came  to  where  yesterday  had  seen 
rice-fields  spread  in  the  sun,  a  great  wonder  met  their 
eyes.  No  fields  were  there ;  in  their  stead  a  great  lake, 
sixty  miles  long,  and  shaped  like  a  lute,  lay  dimpling  hi 
the  morning  light.  Had  a  piece  of  the  blue  field  of 
heaven  fallen  there  in  the  storm,  or  had  the  ocean  crept 
in  from  the  far  coast  and  hollowed  a  bed  for  itself  out  of 
the  heart  of  Omi  ?  Who  could  say  ?  There  lay  the  blue 
jewel  for  all  the  world  to  see,  and  the  people  came  from 
far  and  near  to  gaze  on  it ;  its  depths  were  full  of  fish, 
and  towns  and  hamlets  soon  grew  up  on  its  shores. 
Great  wealth  came  into  Omi ;  and  because  of  its  strange 
shape  the  lake  was  called  Biwa,  the  Lake  of  the  Lute. 


116  LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN 

But  the  great  storm  had  not  raged  in  Omi  alone. 
Far  away  in  Hakone  the  earthquake  and  the  hurricane 
had  been  as  terrible  as  in  the  more  southern  province. 


FUJIYAMA     FROM     HAKONE     LAKE 


The  people  in  Hakone  had  prayed  and  wept  through 
the  long  dark  hours,  and  many  a  home  was  shattered 
by  the  earthquake,  many  a  farm  devastated  by  the 
tempest.  But  peace  came  with  the  morning  to  Hakone 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  117 

as  it  had  come  to  Omi ;  and  when  the  sun  rose,  it  shone 
on  a  glorious  mountain,  marble  pure,  perfect  in  majestic 
symmetry,  Fujiyama.  At  first  they  too  thought  they 
beheld  the  vision  of  a  dream,  a  cloud  picture  that  the 
noon  would  melt.  But  the  dazzling  cone  changed  not, 
though  all  around  it  changed.  The  clouds  that  lay  at 
its  foot  would  rise  and  veil  its  splendour  for  an  hour, 
then  they  passed  away ;  but  the  new  glory  remained. 
By  day  it  towered  against  the  blue,  by  night  the  white 
crown  seemed  wreathed  in  stars  from  the  Milky  Way. 
The  land  which  some  god  had  scooped  in  the  hollow  of 
his  hand  from  Omi  he  had  built  up  in  a  lordly  mountain 
in  Suruya. 

Its  fame  went  forth  even  across  the  stormy  sea  to 
China  arid  Corea.  In  the  oldest  Chinese  books  there 
is  frequent  mention  of  Horaisan,  a  sacred  mountain  of 
perfect  beauty  and  shining  whiteness,  which  was  said 
to  rise  out  of  the  Eastern  Ocean.  The  word  passed 
over  to  Japan  with  other  Chinese  lore  in  time ;  it  came 
with  the  meaning  which  it  then  bore  in  China,  Elysium, 
the  Land  of  Happy  Souls,  Paradise,  and  has  kept  that 
meaning  in  Japan,  where  the  name  is  in  no  way  con- 
nected with  Fujiyama.  It  occurs  in  congratulatory 
odes,  and  also  in  Japanese  fairy  tales,  always  in  this 
sense.  It  is  said  that  only  of  late  years  has  the  original 
allusion  to  Fujiyama  been  traced  by  Japanese  men  of 
letters. 

In  China  wonderful  stories  were  told  about  the  half- 
mythical  Horaisan.  It  was  said  to  be  inhabited  by  a 
number  of  holy  hermits,  and  that  whoever  climbed  to 


118  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

its  summit  would  live  for  ever,  immortal,  untouched 
by  death  or  decay.  And  a  quaint  story  shows  how 
profound  this  belief  was.  The  Emperor  Shin-no-shiko, 
who  reigned  in  China  some  two  thousand  years  ago,  had 
everything  that  this  world  can  give  —  empire,  riches, 
beautiful  children,  perfect  health.  And  all  this  was  as 
poison  to  him,  because  he  knew  that  he  must  die  and 
leave  it  all  behind.  Night  and  day  death  was  before 
him,  as  a  patient  enemy  who  could  bear  to  wait  because 
he  must  win  at  the  last.  And  Shin-no-shiko  vowed  that 
he  would  overcome  death ;  and  he  sent  for  all  the  wise 
men  in  the  country,  and  spent  enormous  sums  on  trying 
to  discover  the  elixir  of  life,  and  offered  untold  treasure 
to  any  one  who  could  help  him  to  find  it. 

And  many  came ;  but  all  their  prescriptions  seemed 
worthless,  since  those  slaves  on  whom  they  were  tried 
died  unresistingly  when  Shin-no-shiko  nodded  to  his 
green  bannermen  to  slay  them.  He  was  almost  in 
despair,  and  used  to  wander  through  the  golden  courts 
of  his  Palace  and  about  his  magnificent  hunting-park 
always  with  the  thought  of  death  in  his  heart,  and  he 
became  morose  and  cruel,  and  was  a  terror  to  all.  But 
at  last  there  came  a  very  wise  man  called  Jofuku,  saying 
that  in  truth  the  other  wise  men  were  all  fools,  but  that 
he,  and  he  alone,  could  tell  the  Emperor  where  to  obtain 
that  for  which  he  longed.  He  seemed  so  sure  of  success 
that  the  Emperor  began  to  hope  again,  and  sent  for 
him  at  once.  Then  Jofuku  told  him  that  the  hermits 
of  the  Holy  White  Mountain  in  the  Eastern  Sea  pos- 
sessed the  water  of  life,  and  that  to  them  the  Emperor 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  119 

must  send  a  mission  begging  them  to  give  him  a  little, 
so  that  he  might  live  for  ever. 

Then  Shin-no-shiko  rejoiced  greatly,  thinking  that 
immortality  was  his  at  last.  Jofuku  offered  to  lead  the 
mission,  and  the  Emperor  gladly  promised  him  money 
and  ships  wherewith  to  reach  the  holy  mountain. 
Jofuku  asked  for  a  thousand  of  the  most  beautiful  youths 
and  maidens  of  the  Empire  to  accompany  him,  in  order, 
as  he  said,  to  please  the  hermits;  and  he  also  took  a 
quantity  of  treasure  wherewith  to  reward  them  for  the 
elixir  of  life,  and  he  took,  apparently  without  asking 
the  Emperor's  leave,  a  great  number  of  learned  and 
sacred  books. 

All  this  splendid  plunder  was  put  on  board  a  fleet 
of  ships  which  Shin-no-shiko  fitted  out  for  the  crafty 
ambassador ;  and  Jofuku  sailed  away,  to  the  land  of  the 
rising  sun  and  the  holy  mountain  —  for  good  and  all. 
No  thought  of  returning  to  China  had  ever  been  in 
his  mind.  His  five  hundred  goodly  couples,  his  treasure, 
and  his  books  were  what  he  needed  for  the  founding 
of  a  colony  in  the  country  over  the  waters,  and  the 
Emperor  waited  in  vain  to  see  him  sail  into  port  with 
the  elixir  of  life.  Too  late  he  found  that  he  had  been 
deceived,  and  in  his  rage  made  bonfires  of  all  the  learned 
books,  and  put  to  death  all  the  sages  of  his  empire. 
"  The  uneducated  are  more  easily  governed,"  ran  his 
proclamation ;  and  terrible  was  the  destruction  which 
followed  it.  But  Jofuku  was  out  of  reach,  and  cared 
little  for  the  Emperor's  wrath.  He  founded  a  splendid 
colony  in  the  Japanese  province  of  Ki-shiu,  and  the 


120  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAX 

valuable  books  which  he  stole  (as  if  foreseeing  Shin-no- 
shiko's  wholesale  destruction  of  learning)  are  to  this 
day  the  envy  and  despair  of  Chinese  scholars. 

All  this  does  not  explain  why  the  white  and  holy 
Horaisan  of  Chinese  tradition  is  the  Fujiyama  of  Japa- 
nese reality.  As  there  are  no  less  than  twenty-eight 
characters  which  represent  various  meanings  of  the 
monosyllable  Fu  it  naturally  follows  that  there  is  great 
variety  in  the  characters  used  to  transcribe  the  beloved 
mountain's  name.  The  word  yama  which  is  generally 
added  merely  means  mountain,  and  san  may  be  trans- 
lated either  as  a  term  of  respect  or  as  the  Chinese  shcui, 
mountain  or  hill.  The  name  has  many  forms ;  but  Fuji 
San  is  the  one  I  have  most  often  heard  used,  and 
there  is  no  authority  for  preferring  one  signification 
over  the  other.  When  it  is  written  ^  ll  it  means  "  not 
two,"  unequalled,  peerless ;  the  characters  Jf>  5E  signify 
deathless,  immortal,  and  are  connected  with  Jofuku's 
story  of  the  elixir  of  life.  The  scholar  finds  a  likeness 
in  Fuji's  towering  height  to  the  superiority  of  the 
learned  over  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  writes  it  "  rich 
scholar."  A  young  girl  in  her  father's  garden,  so  the 
story  goes,  once  plucked  a  handful  of  the  white  and 
purple  wistaria  blossom,  and  called  it  Fuji,  because  of 
its  likeness  to  the  holy  mountain  when  the  twilight 
hangs  a  violet  veil  above  the  snows,  and  because  its 
peak  was  shaped  like  the  spotless  flower.  Then  she 
remembered  that  the  hair  of  a  beautiful  woman  ouurht 

o 

to  grow  in  points,  leaving  her  forehead  the  shape  of 
the  mountain.  So  she  felt  in  her  sash  for  her  little 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


121 


mirror,  and  pulled  it  out  of  its  embroidered  case,  and 
looked  at  herself  as  she  stood  in  the  sunshine  under  the 
wistaria  trails ;  and  as  she  looked  in  the  mirror,  she  was 
so  surprised  at  the  gleaming  whiteness  of  her  forehead  in 
the  sun  that  she  raised  her  eyebrows  in  surprise,  and 
two  white  points  rose  towards  her  dark  hair,  and  she 
was  satisfied  because  her  forehead  was  white  and  shapely 


FUJIYAMA    FROM    IWABUCHI 


as  the  holy  mountain  ;  and  from  that  time  the  ideal  femi- 
nine brow  is  called  Fuji  Bitai,  the  Fuji  forehead.  And 
so  on,  for  indeed  the  legends  about  the  beloved  mountain 
are  endless ;  every  one  loves  it,  and  each  calls  it  that  which 
stands  highest  in  his  own  imagination.  The  true  origin 
of  the  name  is  probably  to  be  found  in  an  Ainu  word 
meaning  "to  push  forth,"  a  combination  alluding  either 
to  the  eruptions  of  the  volcano  in  past  times  or  to  the 
river  which  breaks  impetuously  from  the  mountain-side. 


122  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

Fuji  San  is  sacred  to  many  gods,  even  as  it  goes 
by  many  names.  Pilgrims  of  every  sect  crowd  along 
its  steep  paths  in  the  summer  days,  and,  no  matter  how 
separated  on  other  points,  all  agree  that  it  is  a  very- 
holy  mountain ;  and  I  think  each  one,  while  smilingly 
tolerating  the  mistakes  of  his  neighbours,  feels  that  it  is 
the  home  of  one  of  his  own  deities  or  tutelary  spirits. 
It  is  dedicated  to  a  goddess  —  tradition  calls  her,  "  The 
Princess  who  makes  the  Blossoms  of  the  Trees  to 
flower ; "  but  in  spite  of  this  fact  the  ascent  was  for- 
bidden to  women  until  quite  lately.  It  is  a  rough  and 
arduous  undertaking,  involving  a  night  passed  in  the 
rude  shelter-hut  on  the  summit;  and  a  young  Japanese 
friend  of  mine,  who  went  up  with  a  party  of  Europeans, 
told  me  that  nothing  would  induce  her  to  go  through 
such  hardship  again.  I  reminded  her  of  the  Japanese 
proverb,  "  There  are  two  kinds  of  fools :  those  who 
have  never  ascended  Fuji,  and  those  who  have  ascended 
it  twice." 

The  ordinary  pilgrim  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  gyoja,  the  true  mountain-worshippers,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  practise  great  austerities,  and  to  lead  lives  of 
great  purity.  They  are  rather  despised  by  both  Bud- 
dhists and  Shintoists,  on  account  of  having  fallen  away 
from  what  is  called  the  right  teaching.  This  same  right 
teaching  must  be  either  very  easy  —  or  very  difficult  — 
to  find ;  for  the  opposing  sects  have  all  taken  some  of 
each  other's  dogmas  and  most  of  each  other's  gods, 
so  that  to  an  unpractised  eye  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  distinguish  between  them,  except  in  the  shrines  of 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  123 

"  purified  Shinto,"  where  no  images  exist.  The  gyoja 
is  chiefly  distinguished  as  an  ascetic,  who  has  so  far 
overcome  the  flesh  that  he  can  perform  amazing  feats 
like  those  of  the  yogi  of  Thibet.  It  is  rather  amusing 
to  find  that  one  of  his  chief  penances  is  reckoned  that 
of  bathing  in  cold  water  long  and  constantly ;  he  must 
even  stand  under  waterfalls  in  the  mountain-paths  (a 
thing  which  I  have  seen  Englishmen  do  for  coolness' 
sake,  only  the  poor  gyoja  must  do  it  in  the  chill  hours 
before  dawn) ;  and  the  colder  and  cleaner  he  is,  the 
more  elevated  does  he  become,  until  he  can  take  com- 
mand, as  it  were,  of  the  forces  of  nature.  He  is  not 
forbidden  to  marry,  but  may  not  look  boldly  at  any 
woman  whom  he  meets ;  the  hardships  which  the  genial 
club  pilgrim  undergoes  in  laughing  company  for  a  few 
weeks  in  the  summer  are  the  gyoja  s  life  portion ;  the 
name  means  "  the  man  of  austerities,"  but  his  sect  is 
called  "  Yama-bushi,"  the  mountain-worshippers.  The 
true  gyoja  can  do  things  which  would  be  terribly  dis- 
tressing to  ordinary  humanity :  he  can  stand  on  the 
narrowest  ledges  at  enormous  heights  without  feeling 
dizzy ;  he  can  play  with  scalding  water  and  walk  over 
live  coals  unhurt;  he  can  mount  ladders  made  of  fine- 
edged  sword-blades  without  shedding  a  drop  of  blood ; 
he  can  fast  beyond  the  limits  of  human  resistance ;  he 
has  probably  climbed  every  sacred  peak  in  Japan,  and 
becomes  personally  possessed  of  the  gods  on  the  holy 
mountain  of  Ontake.  Fuji,  steep  and  cold,  has  no  ter- 
rors for  him,  and  doubtless  says  much  to  him  that  the 
ordinary  pilgrims  cannot  hear.  The  gyoja  sees  Lake 


124  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

Biwa  in  Fuji's  snow ;  the  gyoja  can  hear  when  the  alien 
grains  of  sand  and  dust  that  have  come  up  in  the 
sandals  of  the  pilgrims  go  racing  down  the  mountain- 
sides at  night,  true  to  the  mystic  law  which  says  that 
no  unconsecrated  soil  may  remain  on  the  bosom  of  the 
holy  mountain.  The  gyoja  will  tell  you  that,  of  all 
dreams,  the  dream  of  Fujiyama  is  the  most  splendidly 
auspicious. 

There  is  one  more  name  besides  those  which  I  have 
enumerated,  and  to  my  mind  it  is  the  most  poetic  of  all 
the  titles  of  Fuji  San :  the  Buddhists  call  it  the  Peak  of 
the  White  Lotus.  To  them  the  snow-crowned  mountain, 
rising  in  unsullied  purity  from  the  low  hills  around  it, 
was  the  symbol  of  the  white  lotus,  whose  foot  grows 
green  under  its  wide  leaves  in  the  stagnant  water,  while 
its  cup  of  breathless  white  holds  up  its  golden  heart,  its 
jewel,  to  the  sky  ;  and  the  wonderful  symmetry  of  the 
mountain,  with  its  eight-sided  crater,  reminded  them  of 
the  eight-petalled  lotus  which  forms  the  seat  of  the 
glorified  Buddha.  In  the  more  learned  odes,  the  moun- 
tain is  called  Fuyo  Ho,  the  Lotus  Peak ;  and  the  Bud- 
dhists say  that  the  great  teacher,  Buddha  himself,  gave  it 
this  perfect  shape,  the  symbol  of  Nirvana's  perfect  peace. 

So  the  queen  of  mountains  hangs  between  the  stars 
of  heaven  and  the  mists  of  earth,  dear  to  every  heart 
that  can  be  still  and  understand.  As  I  said  once  before, 
Fuji  dominates  life  here  by  its  silent  beauty ;  sorrow  is 
hushed,  longing  quieted,  strife  forgotten  in  its  presence, 
and  broad  rivers  of  peace  seem  to  flow  down  from  that 
changeless  home  of  peace,  the  Peak  of  the  White  Lotus. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE    OPENING   OF   THE   DIET. THE   ATTACK  ON  THE  RUSSIAN 

LEGATION. — SOSHI  AT  OUR  OWN  GATES.  —  PRINCE  KO- 
MATSU  AND  THE  GRAND  CROSS  OF  THE  BATH. — THE 
IMPERIAL  CHRYSANTHEMUMS 

TOKYO,  November,  1890. 

rriHE  month  of  maples,  chrysanthemums,  Imperial 
-*-  garden  parties,  the  beginning  of  our  queer  little 
gay  season,  has  been  marked  by  an  important  event, 
not  unaccompanied  by  disaster.  The  event  was  the 
opening  of  the  Diet  in  great  state  by  the  Emperor,  and 
the  disaster  —  the  storming  of  the  Russian  Legation  the 
same  day.  The  inauguration  of  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment has  been  the  point  towards  which  great  prepara- 
tions and  precautions  have  been  tending  for  many 
months  past.  The  elections  took  place  quietly  and  suc- 
cessfully in  July,  when  we  were  in  Karuizawa ;  the 
Japanese  are  a  profoundly  lawful  people  (if  I  may  use 
the  word  in  its  old  sense),  and  there  were  few  or  no 
disturbances.  Of  course  here  and  there  some  irregu- 
larities crept  into  the  proceedings,  and  one  or  two  elec- 
tions were  invalidated  on  account  of  bribery;  but  as 
those  things  are  not  unknown  in  England,  the  very 
cradle  of  representative  government,  we  must  not  be 

125 


126  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

surprised  at  their  occurring  here  on  the  first  trial  of  the 
new  methods,  and  doubtless  many  a  strange  scene  will 
be  witnessed  before  the  huge  unbroken  team  of  deputies 
settle  down  into  their  working  stride. 

The  present  Houses  of  Parliament  form  a  group  of 
roomy  wooden  buildings,  intended  only  to  serve  until 
the  permanent  and  costly  erections  planned  for  the  pur- 
pose can  be  completed.  With  admirable  good  sense 
the  Government  decided  that,  until  the  needs  of  the 
Diet  had  been  shown  during  a  working  session,  the 
permanent  Houses  for  its  accommodation  should  not 
be  put  in  hand,  and  also  that  no  national  vanity  should 
induce  them  to  spend  more  than  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary on  these  temporary  buildings.  A  very  small  sum, 
80,000  yen,  was  voted  for  the  work ;  but  as  it  went  on, 
various  portions  had  to  be  added  to  the  original  plan 
drawn  out  by  Stegmuller,  the  German  architect  to 
whom  the  task  had  been  entrusted,  and  the  final  cost 
has  proved  to  be  about  240,000  yen  (£24,000),  a  small 
sum  when  one  considers  the  necessities  of  the  case. 
Although  carried  out  in  wood,  the  structure  is  dignified 
and  harmonious.  It  covers  a  very  large  area;  is  sur- 
rounded, of  course,  by  a  garden,  planted  with  full-grown 
trees ;  and  contains  Chambers  of  Session  for  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  House  of  Peers,  each  containing 
three  hundred  and  twenty-six  seats,  and  accommodation 
in  the  balconies  for  four  hundred  visitors.  Besides  the 
great  halls,  there  are  over  a  hundred  rooms  fitted  up  as 
committee-rooms,  libraries,  and  so  forth ;  fire-proof  ware- 
houses for  archives ;  and  two  official  residences  for  the 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


127 


Chief  Secretaries  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  House.  Huge 
stacks  of  chimneys  show  that  the  winter  session  need 
not  be  a  cold  one ;  and  the  electric  light  is  used  here  as 
in  the  Palace.  The  decorations  are  in  such  beautiful 
colourings  (pale  rosy  terra-cotta,  dull  green,  and  rather 
dusk}'  gold)  that  the  absence  of  elaborate  ornament  is 
not  even  noticed ;  and  certainly  the  comfort  of  the  mem- 


H.    I.    H.    PRINCE    FUSHIMI    NO    MIYA 


H.  I.   H.    PRINCESS    FUSHIMI    NO    MIYA 


bers  has  been  carefully  consulted.  The  seats  and  desks 
look  most  inviting.  In  the  Chamber  of  the  Upper 
House,  above  and  behind  the  President's  table,  a  large 
alcove,  almost  like  a  chancel,  has  been  built  into  the 
wall ;  and  here  stands  the  throne,  where  the  Emperor 
will  sit  on  the  rare  occasions  when  he  attends  a  ses- 
sion. The  President's  seat  and  table  would  then  be 
removed,  and  the  sovereign  would  preside  alone  over 
his  lieges.  The  decoration  of  the  throne  place  is  most 


128  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

beautiful,  the  baldachino  and  drapings  of  heavy  Kyoto 
silks,  and  the  front  shut  in  by  a  richly  carved  railing. 
When  the  Emperor  is  absent,  a  curtain  is  drawn  across 
the  alcove,  and  the  view  of  the  throne  shut  out.  The 
Empress,  the  Imperial  Princes,  and  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
have  boxes,  made  as  comfortable  and  pretty  as  possible ; 
and  on  the  second  floor  a  large  reception-room  for  the 
Emperor  is  built  over  the  entrance  hall,  and  opens  on 
a  balcony,  where  he  can  step  out  and  show  himself  to 
the  people  if  necessary. 

There  had  been  some  delay  about  the  opening 
ceremony,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  whole  organi- 
sation of  the  Diet  had  to  be  elaborated  before  it  could 
take  place.  When  the  day  came,  the  excitement  was 
intense ;  although,  apart  from  the  invitations  sent  to 
the  heads  of  missions,  and  other  officials,  only  the  most 
tardy  announcement  had  appeared  as  to  the  hour  when 
the  Emperor  would  leave  the  Palace.  From  early 
morning  the  streets  were  crowded  with  people,  and  the 
great  open  spaces  round  the  Houses  of  Parliament  were 
packed  with  dense  crowds,  such  as  always  gather 
eagerly  when  there  is  a  chance  of  beholding  the  sov- 
ereign. The  police  had  their  hands  full,  as  they  were 
responsible  for  keeping  the  public  back  to  a  line  drawn 
twenty  yards  from  the  main  route  on  all  the  streets 
intersecting  the  road  from  the  Palace,  —  this  not  to 
isolate  the  Imperial  procession,  but  to  keep  space  open 
for  the  hundreds  of  vehicles  which  must  pass  convey- 
ing visitors  to  the  Houses  of  Parliament  before  the 
Emperor's  arrival.  The  result  was  perfect ;  for  there 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  129 

was  not  a  single  block  of  any  kind,  or  the  slightest  diffi- 
culty in  finding  the  carriages  and  jinrikshas  when  the 
ceremony  was  over.  A  very  stringent  regulation  for- 
bids that  any  one  should  look  down  on  the  sovereign 
from  an  elevated  position.  There  were  hardly  any 
upper  windows  on  the  route,  which  passed  by  the  great 
avenues  along  the  Palace  moats  ;  but  one  or  two  young- 
sters who  had  audaciously  climbed  trees  so  as  to  get  a 
better  view  were  pulled  down  sternly  by  the  police, 
and  the  attempt  was  not  repeated.  A  very  large  body 
of  troops  lined  the  entire  route  four  deep  before  the 
Emperor  finally  left  the  .Palace ;  but  this  was  done 
merely  to  add  to  the  pomp  of  the  procession,  for  his 
Majesty  would  have  nothing  to  fear  from  any  class  of 
his  subjects  except  too  warm  a  demonstration  of  loyalty, 
and  even  that  would  always  be  tempered  by  the  religious 
awe  with  which  even  the  most  violent  Radicals  here 
regard  his  sacred  person. 

The  invitations  named  ten  o'clock  as  the  hour  for 
arriving  at  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  by  half- 
past  ten  the  rush  of  carriages  and  jinrikshas  was  over, 
and  a  broad  empty  way  was  left  for  the  procession 
from  the  Palace.  It  was  headed,  of  course,  by  Guards 
and  outriders ;  and  then  came  three  carriages  full  of 
Imperial  Princes  (cousins  and  uncles  of  the  Emperor) 
old  enough  to  take  their  seats  in  the  House  of  Peers  ; 
then  the  beautiful  State  coach,  with  its  glass  sides  and 
golden  phoenix  crown,  its  six  splendidly  caparisoned 
horses  and  gorgeous  attendants,  passed  slowly  by,  carry- 
ing the  Emperor  in  his  marshal's  uniform  and  many 


130  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

decorations,  attended  by  Marquis  Tokudaiji,  the  Lord 
High  Chamberlain,  who  sat  on  the  opposite  seat.  A 
body  of  Life  Guards  followed  the  Emperor's  coach  ;  and 
then  came  a  number  of  State  carriages  containing  the 
Cabinet  Ministers  and  Court  officials.  When  the  Em- 
peror arrived  at  the  entrance  to  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment, he  was  received  by  all  the  great  functionaries, 
headed  by  Count  Ito  (who  has  been  elected  President 
of  the  Upper  House),  and  then  proceeded  to  wait  in  the 
great  reception-room  while  all  those  who  had  accom- 
panied him  were  sorted  into  their  places.  A  separate 
reception-room  was  set  aside  for  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
whose  younger  members  were  indignant  at  finding  all 
the  windows  impenetrably  veiled  to  prevent  their  look- 
ing down  from  this  upper  floor  on  the  Emperor's  ar- 
rival. They  had,  however,  the  privilege  of  accompanying 
him  to  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  and  told  me  that  it  pre- 
sented an  imposing  sight  when  he  entered  and  took 
his  seat  on  the  throne,  surrounded  by  that  great  con- 
course of  subjects  and  courtiers.  The  Commons  were 
all  gathered  in  the  hall,  some  of  the  lower  seats  having 
been  removed  to  give  them  standing  room ;  the  Empress 
with  the  Princesses  and  her  ladies  (the  only  women  pres- 
ent) took  their  places  in  the  box  prepared  for  them ; 
and  the  Strangers'  Gallery,  as  well  as  every  available 
corner,  was  crowded  with  smart  uniforms  and  brilliant 
decorations.  The  members  of  the  Lower  House  were 
almost  all  in  plain  evening  dress,  and  it  was  maliciously 
remarked  that  they  looked  fluttered  and  delighted ; 
while  the  Peers,  conspicuous  in  their  gorgeous  military 


PORTRAIT    AND    AUTOGRAPH    OF    H.  I.  H.    PRINCE    AR1SCGAWA    TARUHITO 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  133 

and  official  uniforms,  preserved  the  impassive  dignity 
and  calm  which  mark  the  Japanese  aristocrat. 

When  the  marshals  entered  preceding  the  Emperor, 
the  House  rose  and  stood  in  breathless  silence,  and  then 
bowed  like  one  man  almost  to  the  ground  as  he  took 
his  seat.  The  first  sound  heard  was  the  Emperor's 
voice,  when,  standing  before  the  throne,  he  made  his 
first  speech  to  his  first  Parliament.  It  was  one  of 
those  incidents  which  strike  the  hour,  clear  for  all  men 
to  hear,  in  the  course  of  a  country's  history ;  and  no 
one  then  present  will  forget  the  solemn  moment. 

Here  is  the  speech : 

"  We  announce  to  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Peers  and  to  those  of  the  House  of  Representatives : 
That  all  institutions  relating  to  internal  administration, 
established  during  the  period  of  twenty  years  since  Our 
accession  to  the  Throne,  have  been  brought  to  a  state 
approaching  completeness  and  regular  arrangement.  By 
the  efficacy  of  the  virtues  of  Our  Ancestors,  and  in 
concert  with  yourselves,  We  hope  to  continue  and  ex- 
tend those  measures,  to  reap  good  fruit  from  the  working 
of  the  Constitution,  and  thereby  to  manifest,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  the  glory  of  Our  country  and  the  loyal 
and  enterprising  character  of  Our  people. 

"We  have  always  cherished  a  resolve  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  with  other  countries,  to  develope 
commerce,  and  to  extend  the  prestige  of  Our  land. 
Happily  Our  relations  with  all  the  Treaty  Powers  are 
on  a  footing  of  constantly  growing  amity  and  inti- 
macy. 


134  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

"In  order  to  preserve  tranquillity  at  home  and 
security  from  abroad,  it  is  essential  that  the  completion 
of  Our  naval  and  military  defences  should  be  made  an 
object  of  gradual  attainment. 

"We  shall  direct  our  Ministers  of  State  to  submit  to 
the  Diet  the  Budget  for  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  Meiji, 
and  certain  projects  of  laws.  We  expect  that  you  will 
deliberate  and  advise  upon  them  with  impartiality  and 
discretion,  and  We  trust  that  you  will  establish  such 
precedents  as  may  serve  for  future  guidance." 

So  much  for  the  event.  Now  I  must  tell  you  of 
the  riot  which  broke  out  and  threatened  to  wreck 
the  Russian  Legation  while  this  majestic  ceremony  was 
going  forward  in  the  House  of  Peers. 

As  the  Emperor  wras  going  thither,  the  procession 
had  to  pass  the  corner  of  the  Russian  Legation  grounds, 
where  two  wide  streets  form  an  angle,  and  where  a 
small  pavilion  perched  on  the  garden  wall  gives  a  view 
down  both  streets.  True  to  their  orders,  the  police 
were  keeping  back  the  crowd  which  would  have  poured 
down  from  the  side  to  the  main  street ;  and  it  may  be 
that  the  people  were  indignant  at  seeing  a  number  of 
foreign  ladies  and  children  standing  on  this  point  where 
they  could  see  the  Emperor  from  an  elevated  position 
quite  forbidden  to  his  own  subjects.  His  Majesty  at 
any  rate  entirely  understood  the  situation,  and  glanced 

up,  smiled,  and  nodded  to  Madame  S and  her 

daughter.  I  was  not  well  enough  to  join  them  that 
morning,  as  I  had  intended  doing ;  but  they  described 
to  me  what  followed. 


PORTRAIT    AND    AUTOGRAPH   OF    H.  I.  H.    PRINCESS   ARISUGAWA    TADA 


Li-yiTKKs  FROM  JAPAN  137 

As  soon  as  the  Emperor  had  passed,  the  populace, 
composed  largely  of  young  students,  tried  to  force  the 
blockade  of  the  main  street.  They  were  vigorously 
met  by  the  police,  who,  seeing  that  they  might  soon  be 
outnumbered,  struck  a  few  sharp  blows  with  their  sword- 
scabbards  to  reduce  the  mob  to  order.  The  ladies  in  the 
summer-house  above  were  watching  the  contest  with 
rather  alarmed  interest,  when  a  cracker  was  exploded 
in  the  crowd  with  a  snap  and  a  puff  of  smoke,  rather 
startling  in  the  circumstances.  Somebody  in  the  pavilion 
gave  a  little  scream,  and  there  was  a  laugh  among  the 
rest,  when  they  suddenly  became  aware  that  stones  were 
being  thrown  at  them  from  the  crowd,  first  singly, 
then  in  showers,  and  increasing  in  size ;  a  brick  very 

nearly    struck   Mademoiselle    S ,  and,   much   to   her 

mother's  wrath  (for  Madame  S is   a  gallant   lady, 

who  objects  to  retreating  before  a  mob),  the  little  group 
had  to  disappear  from  their  position  in  the  pavilion. 
By  that  time  the  stones  were  also  flying  over  the  front 
gates  which  open  into  the  side-street,  then  crowded  with 
a  surging  mob,  and  some  terrified  servants  came  rushing 
to  say  that  the  people  were  beginning  to  climb  the  gates. 
As  all  the  gentlemen  of  the  staff  were  absent  with  the 

Minister,  there  was  no  one  to  appeal  to.      Madame  S 

sent  the  servants  back  to  barricade  the  iron  gates,  which 
are  fortunately  strong  and  high,  and  then  smuggled 
one  man  out  of  a  little  side-door  in  another  part  of  the 
garden  to  call  some  of  the  policemen  to  enter  by  it  and 
defend  the  place  within.  Her  visitors  and  their  children 
had  taken  refuge  in  a  remote  part  of  the  house.  Mean- 


138  LETTEES  FBOM   JAPAN 

while,  outside  the  gates,  a  pretty  fierce  tight  was  going 
on ;  the  police  were  working  bravely  to  get  to  the  gate 
itself ;  and  the  men-servants  had  posted  themselves  in 
the  pavilion,  and  were  returning  their  assailants'  fire 
by  a  shower  of  bricks,  which  had  been  piled  for  some 
new  building  in  the  garden,  and  which  naturally  did 
not  tend  to  improve  the  temper  of  the  mob.  Madame 

S told  me  that   her   relief   was   intense,  when   she 

saw  a  little  company  of  policemen  file  through  the 
forgotten  door  and  march  to  the  gates  and  the  pavilion. 
As  soon  as  the  crowd  saw  that  the  police  were  in 
force  inside  the  enclosure,  they  lost  something  of  their 
courage ;  but  they  were  still  surging  against  the  gates 
in  great  numbers  and  much  excitement,  when  the 
carriages  containing  the  Minister  and  the  Secretaries 
returning  from  the  Diet  drew  up  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  crowd,  finding  it  impossible  to  penetrate  through 
it.  Knowing  nothing  of  what  had  occurred,  Monsieur 

S imagined  that  a  fire  must  have  broken  out,  and 

was  much  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  family.  When 
at  last  a  way  was  opened  for  him  to  drive  up  to  his 
own  gates,  great  was  his  amazement  to  see  that  they 
were  held  by  a  body  of  police,  one  of  whose  number 
sat  astride  the  top  bar  with  a  revolver  in  hand,  pre- 
pared to  shoot  any  one  who  tried  to  follow  him.  The 
crowd  quickly  melted  away  after  the  Minister's  return, 
but  not  before  several  arrests  were  made.  The  incident 
has  naturally  created  a  very  unpleasant  impression ;  but 
we  are  told  that  it  really  has  no  political  significance. 
I  have  noticed  that  the  actions  of  an  excited  crowd 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


139 


seldom   have,  especially  if   the    apologist   be    a   member 
of  the  Government. 

Nevertheless  there  is  a  good  deal  of  rampant  soshi- 
ism  abroad,  and  it  manifests  itself  in  quite  unexpected 
ways.  Hearing  of  the  trouble  at  our  friends'  house,  I 
ordered  the  carriage  late  in  the  afternoon  to  go  and 
tell  them  how  sorry  I 
was  for  their  fright. 
Just  as  I  was  ready  to 

start,   H came  in 

and  told  me  that  he 
had  sent  the  carriage 
back  to  the  stables,  as 
the  streets  were  not 
safe  for  me  to  drive 
through.  I  was  greatly 
surprised,  as  I  have 
never  been  prevented 
from  going  out,  even 
in  last  year's  anti-for- 
eign agitation.  I  learnt 
afterwards  from  Mr. 
G ,  who  was  walk- 
ing with  him,  that  quite  close  to  our  own  gates  they  had 
suddenly  been  surrounded  by  a  band  of  soshi,  armed  with 
their  favourite  sword-sticks.  An  attempt  had  been 
made  to  distract  the  Chief's  attention  by  hustling  him 
behind,  and  at  the  moment  when  he  was  intended  to 
turn  his  head  a  sword  was  drawn  to  strike  him  in 
front.  But  he  refused  to  look  behind  him,  and  kept 


H.  I.  H.    PRINCE    KITA    SHIRAKAWA 


140  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

his  eyes  fixed  on  the   face    of   the   man    in    front,  who 

lowered   his    sword    at    once.      H laughed    a   little, 

and  went  on  and  finished  his  walk ;  but  his  companion 
told  me  that  had  he  turned  his  head  he  would  have 
been  run  through  at  once,  for  the  soshi  was  closer  to 

him  than  Mr.  G when   the   thing   happened.     The 

Chief  was  in  greater  danger  than  any  one  had  been  in 
the  riot  of  the  morning.  There  was  deep  dismay  in 
the  Japanese  Foreign  Office  when  the  matter  was  re- 
ported, and  profuse  apologies  were  of  course  made. 
H improved  the  occasion  to  insist  upon  the  aboli- 
tion of  those  horrid  sword-sticks.  Every  turbulent  soshi 
in  Tokyo  carries  one,  and  they  constitute  a  real  danger 
in  any  excitement.  We  cannot  imagine  why  the  Govern- 
ment should  be  so  shy  of  controlling  the  soshi,  who  are 
now  wild  misguided  youths,  and  will  be  later  very  un- 
manageable and  dangerous  citizens.1 

And  now  let  us  turn  to  gayer  subjects.  A  pretty 
little  compliment  came  out  for  Prince  Komatsu  the 
other  day,  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Bath,  with  which,  I 
think,  his  Imperial  Highness  was  very  much  pleased. 
We  went  with  much  solemnity  to  his  Palace,  and  H— 
gave  the  Queen's  message  and  invested  him  with  the 
collar,  which  is  really  a  beautiful  bit  of  gold  and 
enamel  work.  All  sorts  of  pretty  speeches  were  made, 
and  the  Prince  (who  has  the  most  good-natured  face  I 
ever  saw,  with  a  Disraeli  curl  on  the  forehead)  kept  us 

1  It  is  now  an  established  fact  that  the  soshi  have  often  been  employed 
by  one  party  to  frighten  another  into  submission.  A  former  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  told  me  that  he  had  found  them  extremely  useful 
in  this  way.  — 1898. 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAX 


141 


to  lunch,  and  the  Prin- 
cess went  through  all  the 
pretty  speeches  in  her 
own  royal-feminine  lan- 
guage, quite  a  different 
dialect  from  the  royal- 
masculine  speech,  which 
in  its  turn  is  quite  apart 
from  the  speech  of  ordi- 
nary men,  who  must  be 
careful  when  speaking  to 
the  Princes  to  use  certain 
words  consecrated  only 
for  the  ears  of  royalty ! 
Is  this  not  a  puzzling 
sum  ?  Of  course  all  the 


H.  I.  H.    PRINCE    KOMATSU 


H.  I.  H.    PRINCESS    KOMATSU 

conversation  is  carried  on 
with  the  help  of  interpret- 
ers; for  though  the  Prince 
speaks  some  English,  it  is 
not  enough  to  carry  him 
through  an  official  occasion, 
and  the  Princess  will  not 
admit  that  she  knows  any 
English  words,  though  I 
suspect  that  she  often  un- 
derstands what  I  am  say- 
ing long  before  the  inter- 
preter has  repeated  it.  She 
has  the  most  lovely  Paris 


142  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

frocks,  and,  though  not  pretty,  is  always  extremely 
well  put  together.  My  wicked  Dachs,  the  Brown  Am- 
bassador, fancies  himself  greatly  in  white  satin,  and 
generally  picks  out  the  smartest  gown  in  the  room  to 
lie  down  on,  with  the  air  of  paying  its  owner  a  great 
compliment.  After  the  Prince  had  been  invested  with 
the  Bath,  he  and  the  Princess  came  to  dine  with  us. 
The  Princess  had  a  beautiful  dress  of  white  satin  bro- 
caded all  over  with  gold  feathers ;  and  as  we  women 
were  sitting  in  the  drawing-room  after  dinner,  Tip  ob- 
served the  gown  from  afar,  and  decided  that  it  would 
suit  his  complexion.  Giving  one  bound  through  the  air, 
he  landed  on  it  with  all  his  four  fat  paws  outspread, 
and  looked  round  to  be  complimented  on  the  feat. 
The  Princess  screamed,  taken  off  her  guard  by  the  sud- 
den onslaught,  the  lady-in-waiting  turned  pale,  and  poor 
Tip  was  carried  off  in  sad  disorder.  He  is  a  source  of 
the  greatest  amusement  to  the  Japanese  ladies  who 
corne  to  see  me ;  they  think  his  tricks  quite  miraculous ; 
and  he  sits  up  before  each  one  in  turn  to  be  fed  with 
sugar  and  told  that  he  is  rippai  (splendid).  He  is  a 
born  courtier ;  for  he  goes  round  on  my  reception  days, 
speaking  kindly  to  any  strangers  who  come,  holding 
out  a  solemn  paw  to  be  shaken  by  Europeans,  but 
making  a  long  Japanese  bow  with  his  head  on  the 
floor  before  the  little  ladies  of  the  country,  who  go  off 
into  fits  of  laughter  at  the  sight,  and  I  am  sure  be- 
lieve that  I  have  taught  him  his  absurd  tricks. 

I    have    at    last    seen    the    Palace    chrysanthemums, 
which  are  extremely  beautiful,  and  almost  more  interest- 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  143 

ing  than  beautiful,  on  account  of  the  complete  triumph 
of  art  over  nature  which  they  proclaim.  The  gardens 
devoted  to  them  are  those  of  the  Aoyama  Palace,  on 
the  eastern  heights  of  the  town.  This  was  the  Em- 
peror's residence  for  several  years,  while  the  new  Palace 
was  being  built,  but  it  is  now  the  home  of  the  Empress- 
Dowager.  The  Emperor's  birthday  party  is  always 
given  in  the  gardens  of  Aoyama,  the  chrysanthemum 
being  his  flower,  even  as  the  double  cherry  is  that  of 
the  Empress,  whose  own  birthday  party  is  always  given 
at  the  Hama  Goten,  the  cherry-blossom  Palace  by  the 
sea.  As  no  party  was  given  last  year  for  the  Em- 
peror's birthday,  this  was  my  first  view  of  these  famous 
chrysanthemums,  and  I  was  quite  dazzled  by  the  ex- 
traordinary variety  and  size  of  the  blooms.  Those  in 
the  show  gardens  of  Dango-Zaka  do  not  approach  them 
in  splendour. 

The  Aoyama  gardens  are  very  large,  and  are  laid 
out,  according  to  Japanese  rules,  in  lakes  and  islands, 
bridges  and  arbours,  pavilions,  rocks,  little  dells  full 
of  maple  trees,  and  little  hills  crowned  with  strangely 
shaped  stones  of  enormous  value  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Japanese.  But  at  this  season  one  hardly  notices  the 
other  features  of  the  grounds,  because  everywhere  are 
armies  of  chrysanthemums,  sheltered  in  large  pavilions 
of  pure  white  wood,  open  on  one  side  of  their  length 
to  the  gaze  of  the  admiring  crowds  who  have  been 
invited  to  behold  them.  These  garden  parties  are 
wonderfully  well  arranged,  and  always  seem  to  follow 
the  same  precedent.  An  hour  is  named  on  the  card 


144  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

of  invitation  well  ahead  of  the  time  when  the  Majesties 
intend  to  appear.  The  carriages  put  us  down  at  the 
gate,  and  we  have  quite  a  long  pleasant  walk  over 
the  green  lawns  and  through  exquisitely  kept  grounds 
before  we  reach  the  place  of  gathering.  All  through 
the  gardens  the  air  is  full  of  music,  the  bands  being 
stationed  in  picturesque  spots  sufficiently  far  from  each 
other  not  to  distress  the  sensitive  ear ;  the  paths  are 
full  of  all  one's  friends  and  acquaintances ;  the  crowds 
of  smart  frocks  and  bright  uniforms  make  the  gayest 
of  pictures  under  the  trees.  When  the  goal  is  reached, 
one  finds  a  huge  tent,  all  draped  in  the  broad  stripes 
of  severe  black  and  white,  which  are  the  mark  of  the 
Imperial  Household ;  a  tremendous  feast  (no  better  word 
quite  expresses  the  fact)  is  laid  out  here  for  the  world 
in  general ;  and  at  one  end  is  a  smaller  pavilion  in 
which  the  sovereigns  receive  us,  and  where  we  have  tea 
at  little  tables  with  the  Court  people.  But  the  sovereigns 
are  kind,  and  do  not  arrive  until  we  have  had  time  to 
walk  about  and  look  at  all  the  show  of  flowers. 

And  what  a  show!  There  is  one  plant,  standing 
alone  under  a  carved  roof,  which  has  grown,  as  it  was 
told,  in  the  shape  of  a  great  junk,  with  a  poop  at  either 
end,  and  double  decks  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  The 
central  stem  has  become  a  tree,  covered  with  solid 
bark ;  and  it  has  thrown  out  this  year  nearly  four 
hundred  blossoms,  all  exactly  alike,  of  the  same  size, 
and  of  a  pale-pink  colour,  the  whole  thing  occupying 
a  space  about  fifteen  feet  long,  and  standing  quite 
ten  feet  from  the  ground.  When  one  can  tear  oneself 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


145 


away  from  this  beauty,  there  are,  as  I  have  said,  armies 
of  flowers  planted  in  terraces  five  or  six  rows  deep, 
each  entire  row  being  so  perfectly  uniform  that  there 
is  no  single  difference  of  petal  or  leaf  all  along  the 
line ;  for  the 
Japanese  gar- 
dener would  re- 
ject as  failures 
the  most  beau- 
tiful blooms  if 
the  leaves  grew 
unevenly  up  the 
stem.  He  suc- 
ceeds in  produc- 
ing a  hundred 
specimens,  each 
flowering  to  the 
same  point, 
with  the  leaves 
sprouting  in  per- 
fect regularity 
at  the  same  dis- 
tances on  the 
stalk.  My  simile 
of  an  army  is  really  a  correct  one,  for  in  looking  down 
the  lines  there  is  no  more  dissimilarity  to  be  discovered 
than  in  lines  of  well-drilled  troops.  And  not  only  this, 
but  between  the  lowest  line  and  the  topmost  one  our 
garden  magician  has  managed  to  show  us  the  growth 
from  bud  to  bloom;  the  lowest  line,  standing  hardly 


CHRYSANTHEMUMS 


146  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

a  foot  from  the  ground,  is  all  in  bud,  the  next  slightly 
more  advanced,  the  next  still  more  so,  and  so  on  till 
the  highest  of  all  shows  us  the  full-blown  beauty  of  the 
flower.  In  the  very  long  thin-petalled  specimens  now 
in  fashion  here,  the  disc  is  spread  out  like  a  white  or 
crimson  sun,  over  a  delicate  frame  of  copper  wire,  many 
inches  across.  In  some  specimens  the  petals  are  so 
long  that  they  hang  over  the  edge  of  the  wire  in  a 
flowery  fringe ;  in  others  they  are  spiked,  and  bristled 
with  what  look  like  fine  hairs  growing  out  of  the  sur- 
face ;  others  are  curled,  thick,  pompous ;  some  like  full 
moons  in  perfect  roundness,  some  all  rays  like  a  mid- 
day sun.  In  every  shade  of  rose  and  crimson,  brown, 
scarlet,  yellow,  pale  lilac,  sunset  purple,  they  almost 
fatigue  the  eye  with  colour ;  and  I  turned  gladly  to  look 
at  some  lovely  pale  globes  whose  foamy  petals  curled 
inwards  over  a  green  as  alive  and  transparent  as  the 
wave  on  the  shore  or  the  glow-worm's  lamp  in  the  grass. 
Going  from  one  to  another  with  a  Japanese  friend, 
who  was  giving  me  the  national  appreciations  on  the 
subject  of  chrysanthemums,  I  was  almost  sorry  when 
the  Majesties'  arrival  was  heralded  by  the  Grand  Master 
of  Ceremonies,  who  waved  us  into  two  lines,  through 
which  the  Emperor  and  Empress  walked  together, 
followed  by  the  Princes  and  Princesses  and  the  rest 
of  the  Court.  The  ladies'  dresses  were  of  lovely  Kyoto 
brocades,  as  near  the  tints  of  the  chrysanthemums  as 
possible.  The  sovereigns  merely  bowed  as  they  went 
by,  and  then  a  long  procession  formed  after  them  in 
couples,  according  to  the  usual  order  of  precedence. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  147 

I  found  myself  in  charge  of  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  we  played  a  decorous  kind  of  "  follow  my 
leader  "  through  the  grounds,  until  the  Majesties  came  to 
a  halt  in  the  pavilion  marked  out  for  them ;  their  inter- 
preters stood  beside  them,  and  we  went  in,  in  detach- 
ments according  to  precedence  again,  to  have  our  little 
conversation  and  make  our  little  bows,  and  slide  off  to 
leave  room  for  the  next  batch.  When  all  the  greetings 
and  bowings  were  over,  the  business  of  ices  and  champagne 
began,  and  was  treated  with  proper  solemnity.  Then  a 
tiny  shower  came  down,  and  the  Court  rose  as  one  man, 
the  sovereigns  took  leave  of  us  with  some  little  precipi- 
tation, and  they  and  their  people  made  for  the  main 
building  of  the  Palace,  where  they  would  at  any  rate  be 
safe  till  the  rain  had  passed.  The  last  I  saw  of  them  was 
a  string  of  little  ladies  carefully  holding  up  their  delicate 
satin  gowns  and  racing  along  under  black  umbrellas. 

We  broke  up  at  once  —  not  at  all  according  to 
precedence !  We  had  no  umbrellas,  of  course ;  but 
everything  is  foreseen  in  Japan.  As  we  issued  rather 
ruefully  from  the  royal  tent. to  traverse  the  long  piece 
of  wet  garden  which  separated  us  from  our  carriages,  a 
number  of  servants  suddenly  appeared  from  among  the 
bushes,  carrying  sheaves  of  umbrellas,  at  least  five  hun- 
dred of  them,  all  alike,  ornamented  with  green  silk  tassels. 
One  was  put,  ready  opened,  into  each  guest's  hand,  and, 
as  we  stepped  into  the  carriages  at  the  farther  gate, 
another  little  army  of  servants  was  in  waiting  to  re- 
lieve us  of  the  precious  umbrellas,  which  were  all  carried 
back  in  bundles  to  the  Palace  —  to  wait  for  next  time. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

NIKKO  AT  LAST  !  —  THE  BRIDGE  OF  BEAUTY  AND  THE 
BRIDGE  OF  USE.  — IN  THE  TEMPLE  COURTS.  — THE  STORY 
OF  IYEYASU.  —  HIS  FRIEND,  WILL  ADAMS,  THE  ROCHES- 
TER PILOT.  —  A  PIECE  OF  IMPRISONED  SUNSHINE.  — 
MAPLES  AND  WATERFALLS.  —  CHUZENJI 

NIKKO,  November,  1890. 

"T~\0  you  wonder  that  I  have  waited  so  long  to  write 
-*—  the  name  of  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  solemn 
place  in  Japan  ?  In  truth,  I  have  feared  to  write  it 
sooner,  have  feared  to  visit  it  until  now.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  a  certain  initiation  should  be  gone  through, 
a  certain  standard  of  judgment  on  Japanese  thought 
attained,  before  I  went  to  stand  face  to  face  with  the 
supreme  expression  of  beauty  and  solemnity.  So  I 
visited  other  temples,  stood  in  the  shade  of  other 
groves,  listened  to  other  waterfalls  and  other  nightin- 
gales, taught  my  strained  Western  senses  to  forget  the 
golden-tinted  ruins,  the  jewelled  hills,  the  gorgeous 
colour  feasts  of  our  blazing  South  Italian  home;  and 
then,  when  the  spirit's  eyes  were  rested  from  the  sun- 
shine, when  they  had  learned  at  last  the  value  of  cool 
shadow  and  grey  distance  and  whispering  pine  branch 
under  an  autumn  sky  —  then  I  was  not  afraid  to  come 
to  Nikko,  I  could  hope  to  understand. 

148 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  149 

I  could  not  come  all  the  way  through  the  grand 
cryptomeria  avenue,  because  the  travelling  now  is  mostly 
done  by  rail ;  but  even  from  the  carriage  windows  we 
could  look  up  at  the  splendid  trees  through  which  the 
line  cuts  again  and  again,  wantonly,  as  it  seemed  to 
me.  The  last  two  or  three  miles  are  done  in  jinrik- 
sha,  and  make  up  for  the  rest  of  the  noisy  smoky 
journey.  One  creeps  slowly  and  with  a  certain  rever- 
ence to  the  heart  of  Nikko,  the  village  of  Hachi-ishi, 
which  is  the  centre  of  the  district ;  for  though  we  for- 
eigners distinguish  this  one  town  by  the  name  of  Nikko, 
that  properly  belongs  to  the  whole  of  this  range  of 
hills,  which  lie  some  eighty  miles  to  the  north  of  Tokyo. 

To  the  north-east  of  Hachi-ishi  rises  the  volcano  of 
Nantai  San,  extinct  since  prehistoric  times ;  and  in  its 
side  is  a  huge  cavern,  from  which  in  ancient  times  (so 
the  story  goes)  there  issued  frightful  storms  which  dev- 
astated the  country  every  spring  and  autumn.  Popu- 
lar legends  say  that,  on  account  of  these  twin  storms, 
the  country  was  called  Ni-Ko  San,  or  Two-Storm  Moun- 
tain ;  and  that  the  great  saint  and  scholar  Kobo  Daishi 
in  the  year  820  exorcised  the  storm  demons,  and  called 
the  place  Nikko  San,  the  Mountains  of  the  Sun's  Bright- 
ness, which  name  it  bears  to  this  day.  But  the  demons 
were  only  temporarily  appeased,  and  the  exorcisms  had 
to  be  repeated  every  year;  so  Kobo  Daishi  taught  his 
formula  to  a  Shinto  priest,  whose  family  continued  to 
carry  out  the  prescription  for  eight  hundred  and  eighty 
years,  when  they  seem  to  have  given  it  up,  persuaded 
perhaps  at  last  that  the  equinoctial  storms  had  their 


150  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

origin  farther  away  than  the  big  cave  on  Nantai  San. 
Long  before  the  days  of  Kobo  Daishi,  a  Shinto  temple 
had  existed  at  the  place  we  call  Nikko ;  but  for  some 
reason  it  was  removed,  and  sent  downstairs,  as  it  were, 
to  be  put  up  in  Utsunomiya,  the  present  railway  junction, 
twenty-five  miles  from  here.  The  next  temple,  built  in 
767,  was  a  Buddhist  one,  built  by  the  saint  Shodo 
Shonin,  whose  life,  as  told  by  Japanese  chroniclers,  is 
a  tissue  of  beautiful  marvels.  Kobo  Daishi  succeeded 
him,  and  added  much  to  the  holy  buildings,  as  did  also 
another  abbot,  Jigaku  Daishi,  who  came  a  little  later 
into  the  same  honours.  From  that  time  onward  Nikko 
became  always  more  holy  and  more  beautiful ;  endless 
Buddhist  saints  have  lived  and  prayed  and  been  laid  to 
rest  among  its  groves;  its  temples  are  full  of  exquisite 
art  treasures ;  and  two  of  the  country's  greatest  men, 
lyeyasu  and  lyemitsu,  chose  it  for  their  tomb. 

This  atmosphere  of  a  great  past  hangs  over  it  every- 
where, and  even  noisy  tourists  who  respect  few  things 
are  impressed  and  silenced  by  its  calm  majesty.  Foreign 
residents  from  Tokyo  and  Yokohama  come  here  in  the 
summer  and  take  houses,  and  have  their  futile  picnics 
and  tea  parties,  and  make  no  more  effect  on  the  place 
than  do  the  sand-flies  on  the  face  of  the  great  bronze 
Buddha.  One  of  my  reasons  for  going  in  the  autumn 
was  that  they  would  all  have  flown  back  by  this  time 
to  thick  carpets  and  coal  fires ;  for  though  the  maples 
are  still  in  all  their  red  beauty,  it  is  cold  in  Nikko, 
and  the  river  brings  down  icy  breaths  at  night  from 
the  tempest-haunted  caves  of  Nantai  San. 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 


151 


Now  the  river  is  the  first  thing  one  sees,  the  cen- 
tral spot  of  all  one's  mind-excursions  here.  It  divides 
the  place  in  two,  coming  down  very  full  and  angry 
between  the  deep-green  hills,  and  spanned,  just  where 
the  sides  of  the  glen  are  steepest,  by  a  perfect  bridge, 
thrown  in  one  scarlet  arch  across  the  white  water,  from 
the  black  green  of  this  side  to  the  golden  green  of  that, 
where  the  sun  lingers  longest  ere  he  rolls  down  to  the 


THE    BRIDGE    OF    BEAUTY,    NIKKO 


plains  and  the  sea.  Why  are  not  all  bridges  scarlet, 
latticed,  lying  between  green  steeps  ?  The  inevitable  wise 
man  will  say  that  they  should  be  things  of  use,  and 
not  of  beauty  alone  ;  but  then,  he  has  never  been  to 
Japan.  This  bridge  is  not  for  use ;  only  grass-grown 
paths  unopened  to  traffic  lead  anywhere  near  it.  Should 
the  Emperor  come  to.  visit  the  shrines,  his  sacred  feet 
might  tread  its  scarlet  arch  —  his,  but  no  others.  He 
would  have  to  walk  alone,  as  of  old  the  Shoguns 
walked ;  for  the  bridge  is  too  holy  for  unanointed  feet. 


152  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

At  one  time  pilgrims  were  allowed  to  cross,  because 
of  their  consecrated  mission;  but  this  is  no  longer 
allowed,  and  the  lovely  bridge  has  not  felt  the  tread  of 
a  mortal  footstep  for  many  a  day.1  Do  the  ghosts  of 
holy  men  come  to  do  the  repairing  in  these  autumn 
nights,  I  wonder?  No  human  hand  has  mended  it  for 
two  hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  they  say  the  wood 
is  as  fresh  and  strong  across  its  eighty-four-feet  span 
to-day  as  it  was  when  it  was  put  in  place. 

Lower  down  the  river  than  the  bridge  of  beauty 
comes  the  bridge  of  use;  and  when  we  have  crossed 
it,  to-day  seems  left  behind,  to-day  with  its  hotels  and 
railways  and  endless  fuss  and  friction  chafes  us  no 
more ;  we  seem  to  have  entered  into  the  avenues  that 
lead  to  changeless  peace.  The  pines,  the  solemn,  pon- 
tifical pines,  are  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  serried 
ranks,  their  enormous  roots  reaching  up  like  brown  but- 
tresses against  the  central  spire,  their  heads  far  away 
near  the  sky,  whence  their  murmur  comes  down  to  us 
fitfully,  like  prayers  that  pass  the  lips  long  after  they 
have  been  prayed  in  the  heart.  Between  the  trees 
long  stairways  of  grey  stone  climb  from  terrace  to  ter- 
race, ledge  to  ledge,  of  the  dusky  hillside,  ending  per- 
haps where  stone  lanterns  are  set  as  if  to  catch  the 
early  sun-rays,  and  whisper  the  good  news  of  his  com- 
ing to  the  deep  shadowy  courts  from  which  the  stair- 
ways rise.  It  must  be  highest  noon  ere  the  shadows 

1  When  General  Grant  visited  Japan,  the  Emperor  had  the  bridge  thrown 
open,  and  invited  him  to  pass  over  it.  The  General  was  much  touched  by 
this  mark  of  honour,  but  refused  to  accept  it,  saying  that  he  considered 
himself  unworthy  to  do  so. 


LETTERS   FlfOM    JAPAN  153 

lift  from  those  embowered  courts,  tracked  with  grey 
stones  laid  in  leisurely  sequence  along  the  rich  dark 
soil,  showing  the  path  to  a  favourite  shrine,  or  to  the 
well  where  pure  water  bubbles  always  for  the  pilgrim 
to  wash  in  ere  he  enter  the  holy  places.  Beside  the 
stepping-stones  grey  lanterns  stand,  stone  too,  each  with 
a  recess  where  a  light  may  be  placed,  in  memory  of 
the  giver  or  the  giver's  dear  ones.  In  one  a  light  is 
floating  in  its  cup  of  oil ;  in  another  an  incense-stick, 
just  lighted,  sends  up  its  blue  spiral  of  smoke,  as  it 
stands  in  the  mouth  of  its  rough  bamboo  holder. 

The  air  is  mild  in  these  sheltered  courts,  and  the 
ground  dry  and  scattered  with  pine  needles ;  so  I  sit 
down  at  the  foot  of  a  flight  of  steps,  and  my  good 
Ogita,  who  has  a  bad  cough,  and  cannot  walk  far  in 
these  days,  tells  me  the  story  of  lyeyasu  and  lyemitsu 
and  of  their  coming  to  be  buried  here. 

lyeyasu  was  the  son-in-law  and  the  favourite  gen- 
eral of  Hideyoshi,  the  Taiko  Sama  of  contemporary 
history ;  and  when  Hideyoshi  died  in  1598,  lyeyasu, 
following  his  leader's  dying  wish,  recalled  the  great 
Japanese  army  from  the  invasion  of  Corea,  and  took 
the  government  of  the  country  into  his  hands.  He  was 
one  of  the  Minamoto  family,  and  took  the  name  of 
Tokugawa  from  the  village  where  his  immediate  ances- 
tors had  lived.  Hideyoshi  had  such  confidence  in  him 
that  when  he  wras  dying  he  left  his  son  and  successor, 
Hideyori,  in  lyeyasu's  guardianship,  telling  him  to  use 
liis  discretion  as  to  placing  him  in  the  Shogun's  seat, 
which  Hideyoshi  himself  had  filled  in  fact  but  not  in 


154  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

name.  lyeyasu  had  no  such  scruples,  and  five  years 
after  Hideyoshi's  death  proclaimed  himself  Shogun.  The 
son  of  Hideyoshi  attempted  to  oppose  him  and  win 
back  his  father's  power ;  hut  lyeyasu  crushed  all  his 
pretensions,  even  as  Hideyoshi  had  crushed  those  of 
Nobunaga,  the  rightful  heir  in  his  time.  Hideyori  com- 
mitted suicide,  and  lyeyasu  founded  the  Tokugawa 
Shogunate,  which  lasted  down  to  our  own  day,  ending 
in  1868,  when  the  present  Emperor  took  the  rule  of 
his  own  dominions  into  his  own  hands. 

But  lyeyasu's  usurpation  was  not  accomplished 
without  much  bloodshed,  and  constant  resistance  from 
enemies,  who  found  it  convenient  to  call  themselves  the 
defenders  of  the  rightful  successor  of  Hideyoshi.  His 
last  and  decisive  battle  with  these  envious  or  loyal 
adversaries  was  fought  at  Sekigahara,  a  village  on  the 
Nakasendo,  the  chief  route  from  Kyoto  to  Yedo.  It 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  battle  where  firearms 
were  used  in  Japan  (October,  1600),  and  terrible 
slaughter  ensued.  Equally  matched,  equally  valiant  and 
determined,  the  two  armies  almost  annihilated  one 
another ;  but  the  victory  at  last  remained  with  lyeyasu, 
and  two  enormous  mounds  are  still  shown  as  the  place 
where  the  heads  of  his  opponents  were  buried  after 
the  battle.  He  himself  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
certain  that  this  was  the  decisive  victory  for  him ;  when 
the  day  was  ended,  he  turned  to  his  generals,  saying, 
"•  After  victory,  tighten  the  strings  of  your  helmet "  — 
an  axiom  which  is  constantly  used  in  Japan  to-day, 
lyeyasu  knew  how  to  tighten  those  strings  effectually. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  155 

He  crushed  the  rebellious,  encouraged  the  more  peace- 
ful subjects,  forgave  his  opponents  wherever  there  was 
a  chance  of  turning  them  into  friends,  and,  as  I  have 
already  said,  established  his  family  firmly  in  the  pow- 
erful position  which  they  maintained  until  our  own 
day.  He  knit  round  him  most  of  the  great  Daimyos, 
so  that  his  rule  centred  in  the  strong  feudal  system  of 
Japan.  The  powerful  nobles  were  all  drawn  to  him  by 
his  subtle  good  sense  and  power  of  influencing  others, 
and  before  he  died  had  recognised  that  they  must 
stand  or  fall  with  the  House  of  Tokugawa. 

Before  lyeyasu  died,  the  conquered  neighbour  Corea 
was  again  upon  a  friendly  footing  with  Japan,  and  peace 
was  cemented  with  China.  The  greatest  blot  upon  his 
memory  is  the  destruction  of  Hideyori  and  his  mother; 
but  doubtless  he  considered  this  an  absolute  necessity  to 
assure  his  own  safety.  His  persecution  of  the  Christians, 
then  numbering  a  notable  percentage  of  the  population, 
was  one  of  the  most  frightful  ever  instituted,  and  went 
so  far  as  to  break  up  those  sacred  ties  of  parental  and 
filial  duty  which  stand  at  the  head  of  all  moral  obliga- 
tions here.  It  is  said  that  lyeyasu  was  instigated  to 
this  course  by  the  suggestions  of  English  and  Dutch 
traders,  who,  jealous  of  the  power  and  influence  of 
the  Jesuit  Fathers,  told  the  Shogun  that  they  would 
usurp  his  rule.  But  it  now  seems  proved  that  his  de- 
sire, like  that  of  Hideyoshi  before  him,  had  always 
been  to  suppress  the  foreign  religion,  which  had  been 
warmly  accepted  by  many  of  the  powerful  Daimyos ; 
and  that  the  moment  he  felt  strong  enough  to  do  so 


156  LETTERS   FEOM  JAPAN 

he  set  about  the  task,  or  rather  set  his  agents  to  it. 
These  gaily  took  it  in  hand,  and  invented  barbarities 
impossible  to  even  describe.  With  the  exception  of 
one  uprising,  in  which  the  Christians,  tortured  beyond 
endurance,  made  common  cause  with  a  number  of 
peasant  insurgents  driven  to  rebellion  by  the  cruelties 
of  their  feudal  lord,  no  opposition,  except  that  of  con- 
stancy and  endurance,  was  offered  to  the  persecution, 
and  Christianity  was  practically  stamped  out  in  Japan 
through  the  wholesale  martyrdom  inflicted  by  lyeyasu 
and  by  his  successors.  To  the  everlasting  shame  of 
the  Dutch  traders,  it  is  recorded  that  they  assisted  the 
Government  with  guns,  powder,  and  their  best  ships 
in  the  final  conquest  of  the  Christians,  who,  when  their 
last  fort  was  taken,  were  massacred  to  the  number  of 
forty  thousand. 

The  period  in  lyeyasu's  life  which  followed  on  all 
this  active  work  was  devoted  first  to  the  elaboration 
and  consolidation  of  the  feudal  system  (by  which  great 
privileges  were  granted  to  the  samurai  as  compared  to 
the  civil  or  non-fighting  part  of  the  community),  and 
then  in  the  development  of  literature  and  of  useful  arts. 
In  these  last  he  was  greatly  assisted  by  Will  Adams, 
the  pilot  of  a  small  fleet  which  went  out  round  Cape 
Horn  to  trade  for  the  "  Indish  Company."  After  fearful 
hardships  and  privations,  Adams  and  a  few  companions 
reached  the  coast  of  Japan,  and  were  kindly  received 
by  the  authorities.  lyeyasu,  interested  in  the  strangers, 
kept  Adams  near  himself  for  many  years,  learnt  all  that 
the  ex-pilot  could  teach  him,  loaded  him  with  riches 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


157 


and  honours,  and  finally  kept  his  bones  in  the  country ; 
for  poor  Will  never  saw  his  beloved  Rochester  again, 
and  lies  buried  near  Yokohama  beside  the  Japanese 
wife  whom  he  had  taken  to  himself. 

lyeyasu    retired    from    the    Shogunate    in   order    to 
establish  his  son  firmly  on  his  own  seat  during  his  life- 


A    TEMPLE    GATE    AT    XIKKO 


time,  and  his  last  years  were  spent  in  the  encouragement 
of  literature  and  in  writing  his  remarkable  work  The 
Legacy  of  lyeyasu,  in  which  he  treats  of  every  subject 
connected  with  good  government,  whether  of  the  family 
or  the  country.  He  chose  to  pass  his  last  years  in 
Suruya,  probably  in  sight  of  Fuji  San ;  and  a  year  after 
his  death  (in  1616)  his  body  was  brought  to  Nikko,  and 
lies,  according  to  his  wish,  in  this  most  splendid  of  the 


158  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

temples  of  his  country.  His  portrait  shows  a  humorous 
face,  with  smiling  eyes,  and  shrewd  mouth  somewhat  cyn- 
ically curved  at  the  corners,  the  face  of  a  man  who  made 
his  world  believe  in  him,  while  he  believed  —  in  success. 

When  his  body  was  brought  here,  with  magnificent 
pomp,  in  a  car  which  is  still  shown  in  the  Temple, 
the  reigning  Emperor  (an  unknown  being  called  Genna) 
awarded  him  posthumous  honours  and  the  high-sound- 
ing title  of  "  Supreme  Highness,  Orient  Radiance,  Great 
Saint "  ;  and  it  is  by  this  latter  title  that  he  is  still 
known  among  the  people.  As  Gongen  Sama  he  is 
worshipped  here  at  his  tomb,  and  is  supposed  to  return 
from  all  the  shadowy  peace  of  Nirvana  to  ride  for  one 
night  in  the  year  in  the  gold-lacquered  carriage  which 
bore  his  body  hither.  Are  there  any  Christians  in  his 
Nirvana,  I  wonder  ?  If  so,  I  wonder  what  they  say 
about  hris  saintliness  ? 

As  usual,  I  have  been  carried  away  •  by  the  human 
associations  of  this  great  home  of  great  shadows,  and 
have  told  you  nothing  as  yet  of  the  visible  treasures 
which  it  contains.  Behold,  are  they  not  all  written 
down  in  the  indispensable  pages  of  Murray  ?  And  yet 
I  wish  I  could  show  you  some  of  them ;  for  it  seems 
as  if  specimens  of  every  art  had  been  stored  here  to 
honour  lyeyasu's  memory.  From  highest  to  lowest,  his 
country-people  have  contributed  their  gifts.  Ogita  tells 
me  (but  I  find  no  corroboration  of  this  in  any  of  the 
handbooks)  that  the  famous  avenue  of  cryptomerias  was 
planted  by  a  great  Daimyo,  the  Prince  of  Chikuzen, 
before  lyeyasu's  body  was  brought  to  Nikko,  that  the 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


159 


road  might  be  worthy  of  the  traveller.  The  first  gate 
is  a  splendid  granite  torii,  sent  by  this  same  Prince 
from  his  own  quarries  two  years  after  lyeyasu's  death ; 
then  comes  an  exquisite  pagoda,  over  a  hundred  feet 
high,  and  richly  decorated,  presented  a  little  later  by 
one  of  the  great  vassals  of  the  family.  The  Gate  of 


ONE    OF    THE    NIKKO    TEMPLES 


the  Two  Kings  is  a  marvel  of  carving  and  painting 
and  symbolism,  which  it  would  take  days  to  describe; 
whichever  way  one  turns,  the  most  amazing  elaboration 
of  ornament  meets  one's  eyes,  and  yet  all  is  harmonious 
and  subdued,  dominated  by  the  great  stone  stairways 
and  the  dark  pine  trees,  and  lit  in  the  luminous  even 
whiteness  of  Japan's  noonday.  The  light  here,  as  else- 
where in  the  Islands  of  the  Dragon-Fly,  is  soft,  yet 


160  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

entire ;  the  magic  mountains  seem  to  cast  no  shade ;  in 
the  depth  of  the  woods,  as  in  the  golden  Temple  store- 
houses, everything  is  calmly  clear  to  the  eye. 

There  is  one  tree  which  stands  alone,  surrounded 
by  a  stone  railing  —  the  square  stone  railing  of  temple 
architecture  which  gives  such  character  to  all  these 
scenes.  The  tree  has  a  right  to  special  protection ;  for 
it  is,  says  local  tradition,  the  one  which  lyeyasu  (who 
must  have  loved  pines  as  I  do)  carried  about  with  him 
for  years  in  his  palanquin,  when  it  was  a  tiny  sapling 
in  its  pot.  Near  it  stands  a  stable,  where  a  white  horse 
is  kept,  in  case  lyeyasu  should  return  and  want  a  charger 
in  a  hurry.  He  must  have  sent  for  it  this  morning,  for 
the  stable  is  empty.  Then  we  are  taken  to  see  various 
relics  of  lyeyasu,  his  helmet  and  shield,  bronze  objects 
so  overlaid  with  green  patina  that  their  very  shape  is 
obscured ;  then  a  wonderful  library  of  Buddhist  books, 
in  a  revolving  bookcase,  scarlet  and  gold.  But  that 
which  pleases  me  most  are  the  finely  carved  panels  of 
the  splendid  halls  intended  to  accommodate  the  Shogun 
and  his  train  when  they  came  here  to  worship.  Every 
bird  and  beast  seems  to  have  been  pressed  into  the 
service  of  decoration,  every  device  which  unlimited 
treasure  and  redundant  imagination  could  produce  has 
been  lavished  on  these  temple  rooms,  each  more  beauti- 
ful than  the  last.  The  very  architects  seem  to  have 
feared  the  envy  of  heaven  for  their  perfect  work ;  and 
one  pillar  has  its  carvings  done  upside  down,  that  the 
voluntary  defect  might  appease  the  jealous  gods.  It  is 
named  the  "  Pillar  of  the  Aversion  of  Evil." 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAX  161 

The  tomb  of  lyeyasu  is  beyond  all  these  splendours, 
a  small  pagoda  cast  in  a  single  piece  of  bronze,  of  a 
golden  colour,  standing  alone  on  the  hillside.  And  this 
reminds  me  of  the  splendid  tomb  of  Yung  Chung,  in 
the  northern  hills  beyond  Peking,  with  its  vast  hall,  its 
hundred  scarlet  pillars,  its  lonely  state ;  and  beyond  it, 
on  the  hillside,  a  nameless  green  mound,  as  large  as  the 
Temple  itself,  in  whose  depths  the  great  Emperor's  bones 
were  laid  secretly  and  unmarked,  so  that  no  enemy 
might  disinter  them,  no  envious  god  shatter  their  rest- 
ing-place in  his  jealousy  of  its  beauty. 

Only  one  thing  will  I  tell  you  of  the  tomb  of 
Ivemitsu,  great  lyeyasu's  grandson.  In  a  small  iron 
storeroom,  entered  by  a  low  and  heavy  door,  I  saw  the 
finest  piece  of  illumination  which  the  world  contains, 
eight  feet  long,  four  feet  wide,  the  whole  surface  cov- 
ered with  a  series  of  paintings  so  delicate,  so  patient, 
so  perfect,  that  I  have  never  seen  anything  in  Euro- 
pean collections  to  approach  it.  The  artist  seems  to 
have  actually  dipped  his  brush  in  sunshine  and  star- 
dust  when  he  painted  it.  It  represents  the  Buddhist 
heaven,  with  glorified  spirits  crowding  round  a  central 
figure,  which  makes  the  impression  of  giving  out  light. 
In  that  small  dark  treasure-house,  the  old  priest  spread 
it  out  for  me  to  see,  and  murmured  explanations  of  the 
picture ;  to  me  it  was  like  a  piece  of  sunshine  im- 
prisoned since  the  morning  of  the  world,  when  the  sun 
must  have  been  more  gladly  golden  than  now.  How 
strange  to  think  that  grey  pine-shrouded  Nikko  should 
keep  this  jewel  buried  in  its  bosom ! 


162  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

At  last  we  left  the  temples,  and  wandered  back  to 
the  bridge,  near  which  a  flight  of  stone  steps  leads  up 
to  other  holy  spots,  temples  and  shrines  crowding  one 
another  on  the  hillsides.  One  stone  marks  the  grave 
of  lyeyasu's  favourite  horse,  the  one  he  rode  at  the 
great  battle  of  Sekigahara,  which  was  the  turning- 
point  of  his  life.  The  old  horse  was  turned  loose  in 
these  sacred  hills  after  its  master's  death,  and  lived 
many  years  in  freedom  among  the  pines.  At  the  end 
of  the  walk  from  the  bridge,  by  the  bank  of  the  river, 
stand  a  long,  long  row  of  strange  little  Buddhas,  all 
exactly  alike,  their  gentle  faces  quite  obliterated  by  moss 
and  spray,  only  their  outline  telling  what  they  are.  The 
torrent  keeps  them  always  wet,  and  sings  here  such  a 
loud  rushing  song  that  one's  senses  get  dazed,  and  no 
one  ever  counts  the  moss-shrouded  images  right.  The 
Japanese  call  them  the  five  hundred  Buddhas ;  but  there 
is  nothing  like  such  a  number  as  that.  I  think  they 
object  to  being  counted.  Tradition  says  that  no  two 
people  have  ever  counted  them  alike ;  and,  indeed,  when 
the  river  is  running  high,  it  is  not  easy  to  get  to  them 
all.  They  look  intensely  weird  and  lonely,  and  a  pro- 
found melancholy  seems  to  hang  around  the  long  grey 
line.  Some  time  ago,  in  a  violent  storm,  one  of  them 
leapt  from  his  place,  and  went  bounding  down  the 
stream  as  far  as  Imaichi,  the  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill ;  then  he  turned  and  stopped,  with  his  blind  face 
towards  his  old  home,  and  there  he  stands  to  this  day ; 
but  none  of  his  companions  have  found  courage  to 
follow  him. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  165 

Wisely  had  we  chosen  the  moment  of  our  visit  to 
the  Nikko  hills;  for,  beyond  the  sombre  mantle  of  the 
pines,  the  mountain-sides  were  clothed  in  a  curtain  of 
scarlet  and  gold,  a  curtain  woven  of  the  star-shaped 
leaves  of  innumerable  maple  trees,  hanging  to  the  cliffs 
as  children  hang  to  the  skirts  of  their  mother.  The 
path  up  to  Chuzenji  was  all  aglow  with  them ;  and  where 
it  wound  directly  under  their  branches,  fired  from  above 
with  the  noonday  sun,  the  effect  of  colour  was  so  strong 
that  it  caused  sudden  dizziness,  and  I  had  to  close  my 
eyes  for  a  moment  before  I  could  support  it.  All  the 
waterfalls  on  the  way  (and  Nikko  is  the  home  of  water- 
falls) were  studded  with  a  spray  of  jewel-tinted  leaves, 
mingling  with  the  iridescent  showers ;  every  pool  was 
the  harbour  where  thousand-sailed  fleets  of  golden 
leaves  rose  and  fell  on  the  delicately  ruffled  surface  of 
the  flood;  the  path  was  all  paved  with  crimson  stars, 
laid  on  a  soft  mosaic  of  bronze  and  orange ;  and  every- 
where was  that  delicious  fleeting  smell  of  autumn  woods 
where  the  summer  has  breathed  its  parting  sigh.  I 
"was  happily  surprised  by  finding  the  maples  up  here  so 
late  in  coming  to  their  glory;  for  ours  in  the  Tokyo 
gardens,  exposed  to  sharp  winds,  are  already  curled 
and  brown.  But  the  woods  were  always  gracious  to 
me,  their  worshipper;  and  the  leaves  have  hung  on  in 
the  sheltered  dells  to  give  me  the  greeting  that  CaBsar 
heard  of  old,  "  Morituri  te  salutant." 

At  last  the  wooded  steeps  are  left  behind,  and  we 
reach  a  level  road  that  leads,  with  a  bend  and  a  sudden 
turn,  right  out  on  the  edge  of  a  lake ;  an  upland  lake, 


16G 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAX 


of  crystal  water  and  sun-searched  deeps,  with  all  the 
sky  to  dream  over  it,  all  the  daylight,  the  transparent 
living  daylight  of  Dai  Nihon,  to  smooth  its  frets  of  blue 
and  gold  to  one  wide  white  calm.  The  hills  fall  back 
a  little  from  its  sides ;  the  woods  stand  shyly  off  from 
its  silver  strand ;  all  the  world  just  now  seems  to 


CHUZKNJI    LAKE 


culminate  in  this  perfect  jewel,  held  up  in  the  palm  of 
the  hills  for  heaven  to  gaze  upon.  I  too  will  gaze, 
for  1  shall  not  see  the  like  of  this  untouched  peace 
again.  The  rest  may  wander  and  climb,  and  even  try 
the  steep  ascent  of  great  Nantai  San ;  but  not  I.  I 
will  sit  and  drink  the  light  here,  and  learn  the  silences 
of  peace,  and  hear  the  wordless  music  of  the  ripple 
at  my  feet,  as  soft  and  even  as  the  breath  of  infancy. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


167 


Space  to  breathe  with  one's  face  to  the  sky,  solitude, 
and  the  ceasing  of  this  world's  voices,  speechless 
beauty  all  around,  and  the  blue  dome  of  the  heart's 
home  above,  —  why  go  farther?  Here  is  the  City  of 
Rest. 


CHAPTER   XXX 

ANOTHER    CHRISTMAS    TREE.  —  BABIES,    EUROPEAN    AND   JAP- 
ANESE.—  IDEALS     OF    HOME    AND     SCHOOL. — A    DAY    AT 
MEGURO. — A      LITTLE     SAMURAI     GIRL. — A      VISITATION 
OF    INFLUENZA.  —  MIYANOSHITA     AS     A     SANATORIUM.— 
BURNING   OF    THE   HOUSES    OF   PARLIAMENT 

January,  1891. 

r  I  THE  New  Year  has  come  round  again ;  but  it  has 
-*-  brought  such  a  frightful  visitation  of  influenza 
that  our  little  society  has  hardly  had  strength  to  ex- 
change the  usual  greetings  and  good  wishes.  1  am 
told  that  the  scourge  was  let  loose  in  Tokyo  at  an 
innocent  Christmas  party  in  our  house,  where  we  had 
ventured  to  gather  together  all  our  European  and 
Japanese  friends  round  a  huge  Christmas  tree,  to  the 
great  delight  of  the  little  Japanese  children,  to  whom 
the  sight  was  as  surprising  as  it  was  to  the  compound 
children  last  year.  We  had  placed  our  tree  in  the 
inner  part  of  the  hall,  where  the  great  staircase  makes 
its  three  turns  round  a  square  space,  usually  filled  with 
plants  and  easy-chairs.  That  day  everything  was  turned 
out,  and  the  tree  spread  its  branches  right  up  to  the 
level  of  the  second  floor,  where,  by  the  way,  a  kind  of 
fire  brigade  was  stationed  in  case  of  accidents.  All  this 

168 


LETTERS   FROM   JAP  AX  169 

was  impenetrably  curtained  off  from  the  entrance  hall, 
until  all  our  guests  had  arrived  and  the  whole  of  our 
Tokyo  world  gathered  together;  then,  at  a  given 
signal,  one  of  the  old  Christmas  carols  burst  from 
a  choir  hidden  in  a  recess,  the  curtains  were  drawn 
aside,  and  the  pyramid  of  light  shone  out  in  all  its 
completeness.  The  sight  was  fairylike,  and  the  cry  of 
pleasure  that  rang  from  one  end  of  the  hall  to  the 
other  quite  repaid  me  and  the  many  kind  friends  who 
had  been  my  helpers  for  any  trouble  and  fatigue  that 
the  thing  had  cost. 

Then  came  the  distribution  of  our  little  gifts  (a 
serious  business,  for  there  were  at  least  two  hundred 
children,  besides  all  their  grown-up  relations);  and  this 
was  followed  by  a  sight  which  to  me  was  as  pretty  as 
the  tree  itself.  The  house  is  not  very  large  for  a  gath- 
ering of  this  kind,  and  all  the  available  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor  had  been  turned  into  supper-rooms  for  the 
grown-up  guests ;  so  we  were  obliged  to  lay  the  chil- 
dren's feast  in  the  long  gallery  on  the  second  floor, 
running  the  whole  length  of  the  hall  below.  This  had 
been  decorated  with  green  wreaths  and  quantities  of 
lanterns,  and  here  little  people  of  every  nationality  sat 
side  by  side  and  made  friends  over  the  bonbons  and 
crackers.  Count  Saigo's  three  splendid  boys,  in  the 
gold-laced  uniform  of  their  military  school,  insisted  on 
helping  to  wait  on  the  others ;  and  it  was  pretty  to  see 
the  dark  aristocratic  heads  bending  over  the  fair-haired 
English  babies,  who  smiled  up  confidingly  at  the  kind 
big  boys.  Everybody  sat  down  where  they  could  find 


170 


a  place ;  a  small  Princess  Sanjo,  dressed  in  dazzling 
garments  of  crape  and  gold,  her  hair  held  up  with  gold 
and  amber  chrysanthemums,  made  friends  with  a  dear 

little  person  of 
three  who  is  one 
of  my  great  cro- 
nies, a  Yorkshire 
Margaret,  with  the 
reddest  hair  and 
the  bluest  eyes  I 
have  ever  seen. 
Her  little  fat  fin- 
gers, already  sticky 
with  sweets,  were 
eager  to  explore 
the  wonders  of  the 
little  Japanese 
lady's  embroidered 
pocket-book,  with 
its  gold  and  coral 
chains  hanging  out 
in  a  fringe  over 
her  splendid  sash. 
The  tiny  Saigo 
girl,  another  small 
friend  of  mine,  had  been  to  foreign  parties  before,  and 
ran  about  as  if  the  place  belonged  to  her ;  while  her 
mother  followed  her  everywhere  with  an  amused  smile, 
and  making  many  excuses  for  her  daughter's  forward- 
ness. 


ONE    OF    OUR    GUESTS 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  171 

The  grown-up  people  crowded  in  such  numbers 
round  our  beautiful  battalion  of  children  that  there 
was  hardly  room  for  the  attendants  to  wait  on  them 
at  all ;  but  the  European  little  ones  looked  after  them- 
selves pretty  effectually,  and  Japanese  children  of  the 
upper  classes  will  not  eat  in  public;  they  take  a  bon- 
bon out  of  politeness,  but  it  does  not  enter  into  their 
code  of  manners  to  be  eager  about  food  or  to  partake 
of  it  before  strangers.  They  would,  until  quite  lately, 
have  expected  to  have  their  portion  of  the  feast 
packed  up  in  pretty  boxes  and  put  into  their  car- 
riages, or  sent  to  their  houses  after  they  had  gone 
home.  A  reminiscence  of  this  custom  has  brought  me 
a  charming  collection  of  Imperial  wine-cups ;  for  when- 
ever H lunches  or  dines  with  the  Emperor,  one 

of  these  is  put  into  the  carriage  wrapped  up  in  Palace 
paper.  They  vary  a  little  in  design,  but  are  always 
of  transparently  thin  white  porcelain  decorated  with 
gold  chrysanthemums.  At  the  dinners  given  by  the 
Imperial  Princes,  the  parting  gift  is  generally  a  silver 
or  enamel  box,  sometimes  of  beautiful  workmanship, 
filled  with  bonbons;  and  wherever  one  dines,  we 
women  at  any  rate  carry  away  baskets  or  bouquets 
of  most  lovely  flowers. 

But  to  return  to  the  Japanese  children.  I  told 
you,  I  think,  last  year,  how  charmingly  the  servants' 
little  ones  behaved  (the  tree  was  repeated  for  them 
this  year  too) ;  and  I  was  glad  to  compare  their  man- 
ners with  those  of  the  small  nobles  whom  we  had 
gathered  together  this  time.  Well,  except  that  the 


172  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

nobles  showed  rather  more  gravity  of  demeanour,  and 
were  far  more  beautiful  to  look  at,  there  was  really 
nothing  to  choose  between  the  classes.  The  same 
suave  calm  manner,  the  same  quiet  thanks  for  gifts 
bestowed,  the  same  self-effacement  and  consideration 
of  others,  were  shown  at  both  my  parties;  and  I  feel 
that  there  must  be  a  great  deal  to  say  for  a  system 
of  education  which,  without  robbing  childhood  of  a 
moment's  bright  happiness,  can  clothe  little  children  of 
every  condition  with  this  garment  of  perfect  courtesy. 
I  have  rarely  seen  its  match,  except  once  or  twice 
among  little  Austrian  and  Italian  royalties;  but  there 
inheritance  and  environment,  as  well  as  the  high 
standard  of  behaviour  insisted  on  in  all  noble  Catholic 
families,  royal  or  otherwise,  had  had  full  scope,  had 
moulded  the  little  personality  from  the  very  outset 
of  life. 

Here,  explain  it  who  can,  it  is  in  the  blood,  and 
can  be  counted  on  with  absolute  certainty.  It  is,  to 
me,  most  comforting  to  see  that  all  that  is  desirable 
in  the  little  people's  deportment  can  be  attained  with- 
out snubbings  or  punishments  or  weary  scoldings.  The 
love  showered  upon  children  simply  wraps  them  in 
warmth  and  peace,  and  seems  to  encourage  every 
sweet  good  trait  of  character  without  ever  fostering  a 
bad  one.  Japanese  children  are  never  frightened  into 
telling  lies  or  hiding  their  faults.  Open  as  the  day, 
they  bring  every  joy  or  sorrow  to  -father  or  mother 
to  be  shared  or  healed,  and  their  small  likes  or  dis- 
likes are  quite  as  much  taken  into  account  as  those 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN  173 

of  their  elders.  True,  from  the  time  they  can  begin 
to  understand  anything,  axioms  of  honour,  kindness, 
filial  duty,  and  above  all  patriotism,  are  repeated  and 
explained  to  them  with  a  good  faith  and  solemnity 
which  would  send  our  English  schoolboys  off  into 
fits  of  scofiing  laughter.  The  nursery  catechism  takes 
somewhat  this  form  in  Japan. 

"  What  do  you  love  best  in  the  world  ? " 

"  The  Emperor,  of  course." 

"Better  than  father  and  mother?" 

"  He  is  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  the  father  of  my 
father  and  mother." 

"  What  will  you  give  the  Emperor  ?  " 

"All  my  best  toys,  and  my  life  when  he  wants  it." 

And  so  on  —  and  it  is  all  true,  and  has  been  and 
will  be  proved  again  and  again.  But  there  are  no 
scoffers  in  Japan.  There  are  bitter  haters,  and  per- 
haps as  many  criminals  as  can  be  reasonably  expected 
after  only  thirty  years  of  intercourse  with  civilised 
nations,  the  delays  in  extending  the  railways,  and  the 
tiresome  perfection  of  the  police  system;  but  the  most 
hardened  criminals  have  not  yet  learnt  to  scoff  at 
virtue  and  patriotism,  to  heap  contempt  on  honour 
and  courage  and  humility.  This  grave  belief  in  ab- 
stract things  (which  in  England  to-day  could  only  be 
mentioned  with  an  apologetic  smile  for  one's  own 
weakness)  is  still  the  foundation  of  education  in  Japan, 
and  gives  the  parent  or  the  teacher  a  strength  and 
authority  in  dealing  with  the  young  spirit  which  our 
poor  schoolmasters  can  never  exercise.  I  have  known 


174  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

many  of  these  unhappy  men,  and  have  not  yet  found 
one  who  was  believed  in  by  his  pupils.  Indulgent 
tolerance  from  big  boys,  who  can  afford  to  say,  "  Old 
So-and-so  is  an  awful  humbug,  but  not  half  bad  when 
you're  big  enough  riot  to  be  afraid  of  him";  hatred 
and  fear  from  the  little  fellows,  to  whom  all  morality 
is  made  horrible  because  their  chief  torturer  is  proba- 
bly their  preacher  as  well,  —  this  is  what  our  dominie 
gets  at  home,  this  is  what  I  have  seen  and  shuddered 
at  for  so  many  years  in  dear  Protestant  England,  that 
it  is  an  unspeakable  relief  to  be  among  people  where 
the  teacher  is  still  venerated,  where  the  position  of 
master  in  a  school  is  considered  honourable  enough  for 
the  eldest  son  of  a  great  noble  to  accept  it  gladly, 
where  education  leads  youth  unblushingly  back  to  the 
feet  of  those  great  schoolmistresses  the  cardinal  virtues, 
and  still  has  for  its  object  to  make  gentlemen,  scholars, 
and  patriots  out  of  Japanese  subjects.  In  this  rever- 
ence for  truly  great  men  and  things  lies  the  real 
strength  of  the  people — a  strength  which  may  or  may 
not  be  assisted  by  modern  armaments  and  modern 
legislation.  I  am  certain  that  it  will  never  be  called 
upon  in  vain,  and  will  never  be  finally  vanquished 
by  evil. 

No  one  can  deny  that  there  are  turbulent  students  in 
some  of  the  Japanese  colleges ;  and  occasionally  where 
a  teacher  has  given  real  dissatisfaction  (generally  from 
wishing  to  introduce  some  unpopular  innovation)  the 
whole  class  or  the  whole  college  will  strike,  and  refuse 
to  attend  any  of  the  lectures  until  the  obnoxious  pro- 


LETTEES   FROM   JAPAN  175 

fessor  has  been  changed.  But  there  is  no  want  of 
respect  for  his  office  involved  in  the  rebellion,  in  which 
as  a  rule  the  strikers  are  warmly  supported  by  their 
relatives.  It  is  the  man,  the  individual  teacher,  who, 
as  they  consider,  fills  the  office  unworthily;  and  since 
there  has  never  been  any  necessity  for  promulgating 
laws  forcing  attendance  at  school  in  this  country,  the 
scholars  are  not  breaking  the  law  by  staying  away. 
They  troop  back  to  their  classroom  the  moment  that 
the  grievance  is  removed,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge  by 
reading  accounts  of  such  pronunciamientos,  do  not  abuse 
their  power.  On  the  whole,  they  do  not  much  care 
about  foreign  teachers;  and  though  some  have  become 
greatly  beloved,  others  have  been  violently  unpopular, 
on  account  of  their  rough  methods,  more  approaching 
the  familiar  brutalities  of  the  English  clergyman-school- 
master when  dealing  with  very  small  and  weak  boys. 
Terrible  trouble  has  been  caused  here  in  girls'  schools, 
chiefly  in  those  recruited  from  the  upper  middle  classes, 
when  a  foreign  mistress  has  so  far  lost  her  temper  as 
to  strike  a  pupil.  Then  the  whole  body  of  girls  would 
leave  at  once,  and  only  consent  to  attend  again  when 
a  proper  apology  for  the  insult  had  been  offered  and 
accepted. 

A  terrible  scene  took  place  in  one  of  the  college 
playgrounds  some  time  ago,  when  two  foreign  teachers, 
instead  of  entering  by  the  proper  gate,  jumped  over  a 
fence  to  join  the  boys  (youths  of  seventeen  and  eighteen) 
in  a  game  of  football.  The  lads  flew  at  them,  and  mal- 
treated them  very  severely,  one  gentleman  having  the 


176  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

impression  that  he  had  barely  escaped  with  his  life.  The 
onset  was  cruel  and  unprovoked,  as  far  as  the  victims  of 
it  knew ;  but  some  slight  excuse  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  it  took  place  during  a  time  of  intense  anti- 
foreign  excitement,  that  soshi  principles  and  false  views 
of  patriotism  were  everywhere  in  the  air,  and  that  every 
boy  in  Tokyo  was  boiling  with  rage  at  an  absurd  story 
which  had  got  about  that  a  well-known  missionary 
teacher  in  Tsukiji  had  refused  to  take  off  his  hat  when 
the  Emperor  drove  by.  The  unfortunate  teacher  in 
question  had  to  claim  British  protection,  and  was  so 
pestered  by  threatening  letters  and  excitable  }~oung 
patriots  that  he  wisely  decided  to  leave  the  country 
for  a  few  months  and  take  a  short  holiday.  All  this 
sounds  very  absurd  and  unreasonable ;  but  is  it  not 
the  defaut  d'une  qualite,  the  one  weak  point  in  a  tower 
of  strength,  the  hard  shadow  cast  by  a  blazing  sun 
of  patriotism  where  none  would  have  been  visible  in 
the  dull  grey  light  of  indifference? 

I  have  wandered  'from  the  congenial  subject  of 
Japanese  children  to  the  more  puzzling  one  of  their 
elders ;  and  yet  it  was  about  the  children  that  I  meant 
to  write  to  you  to-day.  I  have  several  small  friends 
amongst  them,  and  I  think,  when  they  are  not  made 
to  play  tunes  on  the  piano  or  repeat  French  fables  for 
me,  that  they  are  really  glad  to  see  me.  They  do  not 
readily  join  in  the  noisy  games  of  our  young  English 
friends,  who  invade  the  compound  on  Saturday  after- 
noons, and  make  the  place  ring  with  those  delightful 
squeals  of  joy  such  as  only  English  lungs  can  produce. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  177 

But  in  their  quieter  way  they  enjoy  things  quite  as  much. 
One  of  the  prettiest  sights  of  last  year  was  a  fancy-dress 
ball,  where  the  little  Japanese  nobles  came  in  costumes 
of  war  or  the  chase,  the  most  elaborate  and  splendid 
that  I  have  ever  seen.  Every  detail  was  carried  out 
in  antique  stuffs ;  the  weapons  and  ornaments  were  the 
original  ones  used  by  children  of  the  family  hundreds 
of  years  ago,  and  kept  as  precious  relics  through  all 
wars  and  revolutions.  The  solemnity  with  which  these 
were  worn  was  pretty  to  see.  Evidently  the  little  boys 
attached  something  of  religious  veneration  to  the  things 
which  they  were  permitted  to  handle  on  that  one  day. 
The  girls  were  quite  as  splendid;  but  their  every-day 
dress  is  so  brilliant  and  rich  that  one  noticed  the  change 
less  in  them  than  in  their  brothers.  One  or  two  had 
on  robes  given  them  by  the  Empress,  who  is  fond  of 
children,  and  often  sends  for  the  little  ones  to  come 
and  see  her.  When  they  were  all  assembled,  the 
master  of  the  house  (an  artistic,  appreciative  English- 
man, who  is  legal  adviser  to  the  Japanese  Foreign 
Office)  marshalled  the  small  people  in  a  long  procession, 
where  fierce-looking  young  gods  of  war  led  fair-haired 
Red  Riding  Hoods  by  the  hand,  where  a  little  carter 
in  his  smock-frock  and  long  whip  was  accompanied  by 
a  small  damsel  out  of  a  fairy  tale,  wearing  trailing  robes 
of  purple  and  gold,  looking  as  gay  and  delicate  as  a 
Brazilian  humming-bird.  One  of  the  loveliest  there, 

little  Madgie  M ,  an  English  child,  so  beautiful  that 

we  all  took  a  sort  of  national  pride  in  her,  has  passed 
away  to  the  country  where  she  will  be  young  and  fair 


178 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


to  all  eternity.     One  misses  the  little  angel  face  at  this 
year's  gatherings. 

A  little  while  ago  we  went  out  to  spend  the  day  at 
Meguro,  Countess  Saigo's  beautiful  place  in  the  country. 
I  say  Countess  Saigo's  because  her  husband  laughingly 

disclaims  having  anything 
to  do  with  such  a  femi- 
nine domain.  "  Look  at 
all  these  flowers,  and  the 
silkworms,  and  the  chil- 
dren ! "  he  says ;  does  it 
look  like  a  rough  sailor's 
house?"  And  it  certainly 
does  not,  though  the  way 
everything  revolves  round 
the  First  Lord  of  the  Ad- 
miralty tells  how  he  is 
loved  and  honoured  there. 
After  an  elaborate  lunch, 
we  women  rose  from  table, 
and  my  hostess  beckoned 
to  me  to  follow  her.  I 
knew  whither  she  was 
leading  me  —  to  look  at 
the  portrait  of  her  eldest  son,  a  brave  and  brilliant  boy, 
who  died  while  at  school  in  Europe,  and  whom  she 
never  forgets,  even  when  surrounded  by  all  her  other 
children.  There  is  always  a  little  sadness  in  her  smile, 
a  grave  note  in  her  gentle  voice  as  of  pain  accepted 
and  forgiven.  I  followed  her  in  silence;  and  her  three- 


ONE    OF    THE    CHILDREN 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN  179 

year-old  daughter  caught  her  dress  and  toddled  along 
at  her  side.  A  little  off  the  hall  we  entered  a  small 
quiet  room,  where,  near  a  window,  so  that  all  the 
daylight  illuminated  it,  was  the  portrait,  a  life-size 
head,  of  the  dead  boy.  There  were  fresh  flowers  on 
either  side,  incense-sticks  burning  fragrantly,  and  in 
front,  on  a  small  table  like  those  used  in  the  temples 
for  presenting  offerings,  a  collection  of  tiny  plates 
containing  atoms  of  food  from  all  the  complicated 
French  dishes  of  the  lunch  from  which  we  had  just 
risen. 

It  is  some  years  since  the  boy  died ;  but  from 
every  meal  partaken  of  in  the  great  house  his  share 
has  been  set  aside  —  he  is  not  forgotten.  The  little 
sister,  who  never  knew  him,  stands  up  on  tiptoe  in 
her  flowery  robes,  and  gravely  examines  the  small 
dishes  to  see  if  all  is  in  place.  She  would  no  more 
think  of  touching  the  dainties  than  of  striking  her 
mother's  beautiful  face.  "  My  brother,"  she  lisps 
proudly,  as  she  pulls  at  my  dress  and  points  to  the 
picture.  But  the  mother  has  turned  her  face  away, 
and,  with  one  deep  salutation  to  her  son's  picture, 
leads  us  out.  We  join  the  rest,  and  spend  a  long 
gay  afternoon  in  wandering  about  the  grounds,  pick- 
ing flowers,  and  examining  the  great  house  full  of 
silkworms,  who  provide  all  the  clothing  for  our  hostess 
and  her  daughter. 

"I  send  it  to  Saikyo  to  be  dyed  and  woven,"  says 
the  Countess.  "  See  what  a  pretty  pattern  I  have 
chosen  for  my  daughter's  new  obi!"  and  she  holds 


180  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

out  a  piece  of  French  ribbon,  with  Louis  XV.  bou- 
quets and  love-knots  in  pink  on  a  pale-green  ground. 

"But  it  is  a  European  design!"  I  cried.  "Don't 
you  think  your  own  are  much  prettier  ? " 

Then  the  Count  spoke,  laughing  as  usual.  "  Yes, 
please  tell  my  wife  that  she  should  not  venture  on 
European  costume.  She  looks  as  large  as  —  a  sake-tub 
in  those  tight-fitting  things."  Which  was  a  deliberate 
untruth,  for  he  and  we  and  the  Countess  herself  know 
that  she  is  one  of  the  few  Japanese  ladies  who  have 
what  our  dressmakers  call  a  figure  —  the  only  one  who 
looks  as  well  in  our  costume  as  in  her  own. 

"Don't  listen  to  him,  Mrs.  Fraser!"  she  retorted, 
laughing  gaily.  "  He  only  lives  to  te'ase ;  and  if  it 
hurt,  I  should  long  have  ceased  to  live." 

Then  the  Count  has  a  portrait  to  show  me,  and  I 
am  taken  indoors  again  to  see  a  most  villainous  full- 
length  painting  of  the  little  daughter  in  her  kimono 
which  was  given  by  the  Empress ;  and  I  try  to  con- 
ceal my  feelings  about  the  crude  production,  which  is 
barely  recognisable  as  a  likeness.  Both  father  and 
mother  seem  to  worship  the  small  girl,  who  is  the 
most  benignant  of  family  tyrants  now,  and  whose 
character  is  forming  visibly  in  the  maturing  sunshine 
of  her  home.  I  was  much  impressed  last  autumn  by 
seeing  her,  tiny  as  she  was,  insist  on  taking  part  in 
some  egg-and-spoon  races  which  were  going  on  at  a 
children's  garden  party  composed  chiefly  of  Europeans. 
The  little  Saigo  girl  was  the  youngest  there;  but 
when  asked  if  she  would  run  with  the  others  over 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


181 


the  grassy  little  racecourse,  she  nodded  gravely,  took 
the  egg  and  spoon  in  both  hands,  and  started  off,  her 
long  robe  with  its  delicate  colours  sweeping  the  turf, 
her  little  feet  scurrying  along  under  it  in  their  minia- 
ture sandals,  and  her  whole  soul  concentrated  on  get- 
ting the  egg  to  the  goal  in  the  spoon,  although  she 
had  not  the  slightest  idea  why  the  feat  had  to  be  per- 
formed. It  was  evidently  a 
highly  honourable  thing  for 
a  samurai's  daughter  to  do, 
so  —  come  on  !  She  was  so 
small  that  the  roses  and  lilies 
of  the  garden  over-topped  her 
little  head,  and  in  a  minute  or 
two  all  the  other  children  had 
left  her  far  behind ;  but  she 
would  not  give  in,  and  pressed 
bravely  round  the  whole 
course,  her  lips  quivering, 
large  tears  rolling  down  her 
cheeks,  which  had  lost  all 
their  colour  except  the  two  spots  of  rouge,  her  little  chest 
heaving  pitifully  while  her  mother,  who  walked  by  her 
side,  tried  to  persuade  her  that  the  game  was  for  bigger 
and  stronger  children.  No ;  she  had  begun,  and  the 
samurai  spirit  would  brook  no  defeat.  A  hundred  eyes 
were  on  her  when  she  neared  the  goal,  and  something 
uncommonly  like  a  cheer  went  up  from  the  society 
crowd  when  she  reached  it.  She  did  not  break  down 
even  then,  but  gravely  returned  the  dreadful  egg  and 


CARRYING    DOLLY 


182  LETTERS  FEOM   JAPAN 

spoon  to  her  hostess,  bowed  her  due  thanks  when  a 
prize  dolly  was  presented  to  her,  and  then  walked 
back  to  her  seat  beside  her  mother,  as  if  egg-and- 
spoon  races  were  her  usual  exercise ! 

Yet  she  is  not  very  strong.  When  the  cold  days 
came  she  pined,  and  lost  her  appetite  (she  and  her 
brothers  are  brought  up  on  European  food);  and  her 
mother  took  her  down  to  Numadzu,  where  the  sun 
shines  warm  among  the  pine  woods  even  in  winter, 
because  the  Kuro  Shiwo,  the  warm  stream  in  the  sea, 
bathes  all  that  coast.  I  went  to  see  them  when  they 
returned,  and  found  them  installed  in  the  official  resi- 
dence, a  big  European  building  in  the  town.  "How 
is  O'lone  San?"  I  asked.  "Much  better,"  her  mother 
replied.  "  Dr.  Hashimoto  has  ordered  her  to  learn 
dancing  as  a  gymnastic  exercise,  and  it  has  done  her 
so  much  good ! "  Just  then  a  servant  held  open  the 
door,  and  O'lone  San  entered,  and  came  to  greet  me. 
"  Will  you  dance  for  me,  O'lone  San  ? "  I  asked ;  and 
the  sweet  round  face  lighted  up  with  pleasure.  "  Then," 
said  her  mother,  "  O'lone  San  must  go  and  put  on  her 
dancing  clothes."  "  I  like  dancing  clothes,"  she  re- 
plied. And  at  a  nod  from  her  mother  the  maid  carried 
her  off  to  be  dressed. 

This  was  evidently  rather  an  elaborate  business ;  but 
at  last  the  doors  were  thrown  open  with  some  pomp, 
three  women  musicians  in  dark  silk  gowns  entered, 
bowed  profoundly,  and  ranged  themselves  on  the  floor 
against  the  wall ;  they  were  followed  by  a  maid,  who 
spread  a  square  of  fine  matting  over  the  carpet ;  and 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  183 

then  came  the  little  lady  herself,  dressed  in  a  strange 
black-and-white  costume,  much  more  severe  than  any- 
thing she  usually  wears,  and  opening  robe  over  robe 
in  front  to  give  her  small  feet  play.  Her  hair  had  all 
been  done  again,  and  was  full  of  ornaments ;  and  her 
expression  was  as  grave  as  her  gown.  She  came  and 
stood  on  the  mat,  then  knelt  down  and  touched  her 
head  to  the  ground,  and  then  the  music  began,  strange 
strident  notes,  with  a  strong  humming  accompaniment, 
and  quick  beats  through  it  like  pursuing  feet  and  sobs 
as  of  labouring  breath,  that  weird  Japanese  music  which 
is  to  me  the  saddest  in  the  world. 

But  this  time  I  hardly  noticed  the  music  in  my 
wonder  at  the  precision  and  freedom,  the  grace  and  the 
strength,  of  the  child's  dancing.  Every  movement  had 
been  learnt  to  perfection;  her  little  body  swayed  over 
to  this  side  or  that,  recovered  itself  at  the  right  angle, 
seemed  to  be  rising  from  the  ground  on  those  long 
winglike  sleeves,  or  striking  it  in  anger  with  a  little 
white  heel  that  stamped  with  the  sharpness  of  a  hammer 
on  the  ground.  She  turned  and  twisted,  whirled  her 
skirts  like  a  wheel,  or  slid  round  her  square  with  them 
clinging  closely  to  her  childish  limbs ;  and  when  the 
dance  was  over  knelt  again  and  knocked  her  head  on 
the  floor,  and  stood  up  to  begin  another,  giving  her 
orders  to  the  musicians  in  one  authoritative  word. 
They  were  women  with  refined  faces  and  delicate  hands, 
women  of  the  samurai  servant  type ;  and  they  smiled 
proudly  at  their  little  mistress  as  she  showed  off  her 
new  accomplishment,  mastered  in  a  wonderfully  short 


184 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 


YORKSHIRE    MARGARET    AND    HER    BROTHERS 

time,  for  she  had  then  only  been  learning  for  about 
three  months.  The  finest  dance  she  kept  for  the  last ; 
it  consisted  of  some  wonderful  evolutions  with  a  fan, 
which  flew  hither  and  thither,  opened  and  shut,  and 
wheeled  about  with  such  rapidity  and  verve  that  it 
seemed  like  a  live  thing,  and  the  sharp  click  of  its  slats 
opening  and  closing  kept  time  to  the  hurrying  music. 
When  she  stopped  at  last,  it  was  without  a  sign  of 
fatigue ;  and  I  found,  on  rising  to  go,  that  she  had 
been  dancing  just  an  hour ! 

All  our  pleasant  engagements  have  been  broken  up 
by  the  influenza,  which  seems  to  have  taken  the  gath- 
ering of  our  small  world  round  my  Christmas  tree  as 
a  convenient  occasion  for  spreading  itself  over  Tokyo. 
The  next  day  whole  households  were  in  bed,  and 
within  a  week  the  town  was  one  large  hospital.  In 


LETTE11S   FKOM  JAPAK  185 

the  Palace  there  was  hardly  any  one  left  to  attend  on 
the  Empress,  who  was  very  ill.  One  lady-in-waiting 
only  was  spared,  and  she  was  nursing  all  the  others 
and  the  Empress  as  well.  In  many  houses  there  was 
riot  even  a  servant  who  could  light  the  kitchen  fire ; 
and  one  of  my  friends,  too  ill  herself  to  go  downstairs 
to  do  it,  kept  her  family  alive  on  Liebig's  extract 
cooked  over  a  spirit-lamp  beside  her  bed.  As  for 
us,  we  fared  better  than  some  of  our  neighbours, 
because  our  loyal  little  servants  endured  everything 
rather  than  let  the  kitchen  fires  quite  go  out ;  but  — 
we  had  thirteen  people  in  the  house  down  with  it  at 
once,  including  ourselves.  My  own  first  notice  of  its 
arrival  was  an  attack  of  such  sick  mental  despair 
that  I  thought  I  must  be  going  out  of  my  mind ;  then 
I  felt  myself  falling  on  top  of  my  little  amah,  O'Matsu, 
and  just  called  out  to  her  not  to  get  killed  —  and  the 
rest  was  black  darkness,  from  which  it  took  me  a  long 
time  to  recover.  Every  engagement  was  cancelled ; 
people  were  too  ill  to  ask  if  even  their  best  friends 
were  still  alive ;  and  as  soon  as  we  could  crawl  down 
to  the  carriage,  we  went  off  to  Miyanoshita  to  try 
and  recover  strength.  Miyanoshita  was  soon  full  of 
other  victims,  who  came  on  the  same  errand ;  but  as 
we  were  all  suffering  from  the  inevitable  after-depres- 
sion which  the  scourge  leaves  behind  it,  we  avoided 
each  other  sedulously,  and  when  we  had  to  meet  were 
all  as  grumpy  and  reserved  as  if  we  had  just  left  Eng- 
land for  the  first  time  and  were  afraid  of  making 
"  undesirable  acquaintances." 


186  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

Miyanoshita  worked  wonders,  and  the  weather  was 
glorious,  though  bitterly  cold.  Enormous  icicles  hung 
over  all  the  bridges ;  the  fairy  waterfall  on  the  road 
to  Kiga  was  just  a  film  of  frozen  spray.  But  the  sun 
shone  in  the  daytime ;  we  made  roaring  fires  of  pine 
logs  and  cones  in  the  sweet-smelling  wooden  rooms ; 
Kelly  and  Walsh,  the  beneficent  booksellers  in  Yoko- 
hama, sent  us  piles  of  new  books  and  papers ;  and  in 
a  fortnight  we  found  that  we  could  answer  a  plain 
question  civilly,  look  at  food  without  nausea,  and  trust 
our  feet  to  take  short  walks.  Then  uprose  the  great 
question  of  neglected  work,  unread  despatches,  unreg- 
ulated affairs.  "  Let  the  things  lie,"  I  pleaded ;  "  who 
wants  to  hear  from  such  a  hotbed  of  sickness  as  our 
unlucky  compound  ? "  But  my  arguments  were  ruled 
away  as  beside  the  mark,  and,  feeling  still  rather  shaky, 
we  returned  to  our  stricken  home. 

"  I  wonder  if  there  is  a  session  going  on,"  I  said,  as, 
driving  up  from  Shimbashi  to  the  Legation,  I  noticed 
a  crowd  gathered  at  the  end  of  the  wide  road  which 
leads  to  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament.  Then  the 
coachman  turned,  and  drove  down  the  road  itself. 
There  were  no  Houses  of  Parliament  there.  Forty  brick 
chimneys  rose  straight  from  the  ground,  which  was 
layered  with  ashes.  Smoke  was  still  rising  from  them 
in  a  dull  spent  way  here  and  there.  The  Chamber  of 
Representatives,  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  the  committee- 
rooms  and  reception-rooms  and  fire-proof  archive-rooms, 
had  all  been  burnt  to  the  ground.  The  electric  wires 
had  ignited,  and  the  fire  had  taken  exactly  five  hours 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


187 


to  consume  the  whole  building,  in  the  early  morning  of 
the  day  on  which  we  travelled  down  from  Miyanoshita. 
A  formal  reception  at  the  Palace  has  had  to  be 
given  up.  All  the  electric  wires  there  were  at  once 
disconnected  after  this  catastrophe.  No  other  means 
of  lighting  the  huge  place  was  ever  contemplated, 
and  the  ladies  of  honour  say  that  really  it  is  better 
to  go  to  bed  by  daylight  than  to  sit  up  with  one  candle 
—  after  one  has  had  the  influenza ! 


CHAPTER   XXXI 

A  READING  SOCIETY.  —  STORIES  FOR  THE  JAPANESE  LADIES. 
—  THE   EMPRESS'S    VERSES.  —  THE    EXAGGERATION    OF 
A    VIRTUE.  —  MARRIAGE,    EASTERN    AND    WESTERN.  - 
MOTHERHOOD    AND    FATHERHOOD.  — PARENTAL   TIES.  - 
NEW  LAWS  OF  INHERITANCE 

TOKYO,  February,  1891. 

TTTHO  was  the  Irishman  who  declared  that  the 
*  *  population  had  been  "  decimated  by  one-third  "  ? 
The  description  might  apply  to  Tokyo  since  the  visita- 
tion of  influenza.  It  spared  nobody,  falling  first  upon 
the  foreign  community,  and  then  on  the  Japanese; 
from  the  Emperor  and  Empress  down  to  the  last  coolie, 
every  one  seems  to  have  had  it.  Society  has  put  up 
the  shutters,  and  Tokyo  is  so  dull  that  I  find  myself 
regretting  the  mountain  walks  round  Miyanoshita, 
where,  as  I  told  you,  we  went  up  to  recruit.  The  last 
of  my  walks  I  took  late  in  the  day  before  we  left,  and 
the  memory  came  home  with  me  here.  The  sun  had 
set,  but  had  left  a  crystal  clearness  in  the  sky,  which 
was  just  beginning  to  turn  lilac  behind  the  enclosing 
hills.  A  new-born  moon,  like  a  silver  feather,  hung 
over  the  flush  of  amethyst,  and  the  pine  trees  were 
beginning  to  make  black  fringes  on  the  mountain-edges 
against  the  sky.  The  air  was  intensely  cold,  but  full  of 

188 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN  189 

the  sound  of  unconquered  brooks,  some  boiling  hot  and 
sending  up  wreaths  of  smoke  as  they  rushed  down  in  a 
rieck-and-neck  race  with  a  cold  rival  fringed  with  icicles, 
as  if  to  see  who  could  reach  the  gorge  first  in  the  sight 
of  the  watching  woods.  I  went  up  into  the  valleys 
behind  the  house,  right  towards  the  sunset.  I  relapse 
into  savagery  in  the  country,  and  commit  many  bassesses 
to  get  my  walks  alone.  There  is  only  one  thing  in  life 
which  for  dear  comfort  equals  a  solitary  ramble  among 
the  hills  on  a  grey  winter  afternoon  —  and  that  is  the 
Ninth  Symphony ! 

The  universal  epidemic  has  broken  up  some  little 
readings  in  which  I  had  been  much  interested  from 
two  points  of  view  —  a  selfish  and  an  unselfish  one.  As 
most  actions  are  none  the  Avorse  for  being  shown  off 
in  the  best  light,  I  will  tell  you  of  the  unselfish  one 
first.  In  some  of  our  long  conversations  with  Japanese 
ladies,  I  noticed  how  eagerly  they  listened  to  any 
story  of  valour,  heroism,  or  filial  piety.  Very  often, 
not  knowing  quite  how  to  amuse  our  visitors,  we  have 
shown  them  pictures  and  engravings,  all  of  which  had 
to  be  explained  and  illustrated  clearly  to  their  minds. 
They  think  it  impolite  to  pay  a  short  visit,  so  as  a 
rule  there  has  been  plenty  of  time  to  develope  our 
themes.  I  have  found  the  strongest  interest  excited  by 
anything  connected  with  our  Queen;  and  a  splendid 
old  copy  of  Pyne's  Royal  Residences,  out  of  my 
American  grandfather's  library,  was  almost  the  most 
popular  of  the  picture-books.  Then,  seeing  how  shut 
off  from  intellectual  amusements  is  the  life  of  the 


190 


LETTEES   FKOM  JAPAN 


Japanese  lady,  a  friend  and  I  put  our  heads  together 
to  see  if  we  could  not  provide  some  little  entertain- 
ment for  these  dear  women,  who  have  shown  us 
such  endless  kindnesses  since  we  came.  My  friend 


A   JAPANESE    PROFESSOR    AND    HIS    FAMILY 

should  have  by  far  the  greater  credit  for  any  success 
that  we  achieved.  She  is  spending  all  her  time,  money, 
and  strength  on  helping  the  Japanese  ladies  in  those 
directions  where  from  tradition  and  circumstance  they 
are  narrow  and  stunted.  She  is  frankly  a  missionary, 
in  her  own  quiet  independent  way,  and  can  talk  to 


LETTERS  FROM   JAP  AX  191 

them  of  Christianity  as  it  would  be  quite  unfitting  for 
me  to  do.  But  she  is  so  grande  dame,  so  Japanese  in 
her  intense  consideration  for  others,  that  she  has  won 
their  complete  confidence ;  they  send  their  boys  and 
girls  to  her  to  be  taught  English  and  English  modes 
of  thought,  even  where  they  are  not  inclined  to  become 
Christians  themselves.  I  constantly  meet  the  Saigo 
children  there,  and  little  Princess  Kujo,  Princess  Sanjo 
and  her  daughter,  and  many  another ;  and  no  one  ever 
speaks  of  the  mistress  of  the  house  except  as  "Dear 
Mrs.  K ."  She  looks  upon  me  as  a  bigoted  Catho- 
lic, and  I  tell  her  that  she  will  be  saved  by  her  invincible 
ignorance,  i.e.  good  faith ;  and  then  we  leave  controversy 
on  one  side,  and  work  our  little  schemes  out  together 
with  perfect  harmony  and  success. 

Now  for  the  other  motive,  the  selfish  one.  I  want 
to  be  brought  nearer  to  the  lives  of  these  Japanese 
women,  both  from  the  interest  and  sympathy  I  feel  for 
them,  and  because,  although  on  some  points  my  know- 
ledge is  wider  and  more  accurate  than  theirs,  yet  there 
are  many  others  where  I  am  glad  to  learn  from  them. 

I  think  it  was  in  October  that  I  had  what  the 
papers  called  an  official  tea  party,  at  which  we  collected 
all  the  women  of  importance  in  our  little  world,  and 
asked  them  if  they  would  care  to  come  to  me  once  a 
fortnight  to  hear  "pretty  stories"  read  and  talked  over. 
I  could  give  them  as  an  example  my  English  reading 
society,  where  twenty  or  thirty  women  meet  and  read 
and  discuss  English  literature  with  very  keen  interest. 
The  idea  was  new,  and  pleased  them  greatly;  though 


192  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

I  think  one  or  two  feared  that,  as  my  coadjutor  worked 
so  frankly  for  Christian  interests,  this  might  be  a 
scheme  to  forward  them.  However,  they  all  accepted, 
and  have  been  most  faithful  about  coming.  Of  course 
there  were  many  things  to  be  thought  of  and  prepared. 
The  first  story  had  to  be  one  which  would  appeal  to 
their  sense  of  all  that  was  fit  and  proper.  After  much 
deliberation,  we  fixed  on  a  tale  of  filial  piety,  the  im- 
memorial "  Exiles  of  Siberia,"  with  its  wonderful  story 
of  a  daughter's  devotion  to  her  parents.  Then  the 
translation  had  to  be  put  into  flowery  language  full  of 
pretty  conceits,  or  else  the  sensitive  ears  of  these  dainty 
Court  ladies  would  not  listen  to  it  for  a  moment ;  and 
the  business  of  finding  a  proper  translator  brought  me 
into  contact  with  my  first  friend  of  the  professor  class 
in  Japan  —  a  woman  so  cultivated  and  modest  and 
charming  that  I  shall  always  feel  the  richer  for  hav- 
ing known  her.  Her  husband  is  a  professor  in  one  of 
the  colleges ;  and  she  has  had  a  very  modern  education, 
and  writes  for  Japanese  reviews  and  magazines  (how 
funny  it  sounds !),  of  which  more  are  published  here 
than  foreigners  imagine.  She  had  long  desired  to  be 
of  use  in  cheering  the  rather  monotonous  lives  of  her 
countrywomen,  and,  while  deploring,  as  in  (Japanese) 
duty  bound,  her  own  unworthiness,  yet  set  about  the 
task  of  translation  with  great  enthusiasm.  The  long 
story  had  to  be  abridged,  and  much  left  out  which 
would  have  been  incomprehensible  to  our  audience;  but 
at  last  it  was  ready,  and  our  little  ladies  gathered  in 
force  to  listen  to  it. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


193 


It  was  with  a  new  sensation,  called,  I  believe,  shy- 
ness, that  I  found  myself  explaining  to  them  what  we 
were  going  to  do.  Our  translator-reader  had  arrived, 
dressed  in  softly  tinted  blue  crape  with  her  little  mono- 
gram on  back  and  .- 
shoulders.  Every  de- 
tail of  her  costume  was 
fine  and  harmonious, 
her  hair  piled  in  a 
shining  crown  on  her 
small  head,  and  her 
splendid  obi — the  most 
expensive  article  in  a 
.Japanese  lady's  dress 
—  kept  in  place  by  a 
thick  silk  band  buckled 
with  pure  gold.  At 
first  she  stayed  near 
the  door,  explaining  to 
me  in  her  pretty  de- 
liberate English  that 
she  was  too  small  and 
humble  a  person  to  go 
up  to  the  top  of  the 
room  among  all  those  great  ladies.  As  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  hear  her  from  the  door,  she  was  at  last 
prevailed  upon  to  take  a  more  prominent  seat.  The 
others  quite  understood  the  hesitation,  but  received  her 
very  graciously,  and  expressed  their  thanks  beforehand 
for  the  trouble  she  had  taken.  Then  I  was  asked  to 


TYING    OX    THE    OBI 


194  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

read  the  English  before  each  paragraph  of  the  Japanese, 
as  some  of  my  guests,  especially  the  Empress's  ladies 
who  understand  it,  wished  to  compare  the  two.  And 
at  last  we  began.  Well,  it  really  was  a  success.  The 
translation  delighted  them  by  its  elevated  style ;  and 
the  story  was  after  their  own  hearts :  an  unhappy 
parent,  a  devoted  child,  an  all-powerful  Emperor  who 
grants  her  prayer,  —  why,  the  whole  thing  might  have 
happened  in  Japan !  Who  would  have  thought  that 
foreigners  had  such  a  high  morality  ?  (This  of  course 
was  not  said  to  me.)  Evidently  there  were  devoted 
children  all  the  world  over,  —  and  so  on ! 

Every  two  weeks  we  have  a  meeting,  alternately 
with  my  English  one,  which  is  one  of  my  great  interests 
now.  We  finished  Elizabeth,  and  then  gave  them  a 
tale  of  wifely  heroism,  Lady  Nithsdale's  rescue  of  her 
husband  from  the  Tower,  which  appealed  to  these 
daughters  of  the  samurai,  and  drew  tears  of  admiration 
from  their  eyes.  They  laid  aside  their  studied  calm 
for  once,  and  became  absolutely  enthusiastic  over  the 
heroine's  courage  and  wit.  When  I  went  out  in  the 
world,  the  husbands  of  some  of  them  came  and  thanked 
me  for  the  "  splendid  story,"  which  had  been  repeated 
all  through  the  family  circles  word  for  word.  At  the 
end  of  every  reading  the  Empress's  ladies  make  the 
same  polite  little  request  to  be  allowed  to  take  home 
the  manuscript,  "  so  as  to  read  it  again."  And  that 
is  what  happens  to  it,  being  read  aloud  to  the  "  august 
ears,"  only  too  glad  of  some  new  thing,  I  fancy,  in 
the  dulness  and  pomp  of  a  childless  life.  The  Empress 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  195 

is  fond  of  writing  verses  —  a  very  touching  one  ap- 
peared the  other  day :  "  The  world  is  great,  and  full 
of  men  and  women,  who  can  tell  each  other  of  the  grief 
or  joy  in  their  hearts.  My  heart  is  also  full ;  but  that 
which  it  containeth  I  tell  to  God  alone."  She  composes 
music  too,  and  is,  it  is  said,  the  author  of  the  national 
anthem,  a  very  solemn  and  stirring  chant.  I  sometimes 
have  fancied  that  the  extreme  faithfulness  and  earnest 
attention  of  her  ladies  to  our  little  readings  was  not 
given  entirely  on  their  own  account.  The  next  story 
on  our  list  was  a  life  of  gracious  Queen  Margaret,  the 
saint  of  Scotland,  whose  shipwreck  on  its  shores  was 
a  very  sunrise  of  love  and  faith  and  gentle  rule  for  the 
rough  country  and  its  rougher  Court.  Where,  in  these 
stories,  the  action  turns  on  faith,  we  give  the  religious 
element  its  full  value ;  and  the  audience  never  takes 
offence.  "  Hearts  are  alike  in  Europe  and  Japan,"  one 
of  them  said  to  me ;  "  English  ladies  are  very  brave 
and  true  to  their  duties  —  that  is  what  we  admire." 
"  You  could  teach  us  more  than  we  could  teach  you 
on  that  point,"  I  sighed,  thinking  what  Japanese  women 
would  make  of  our  just  laws,  our  honourable  equal  mar- 
riage rights  (equal  in  all  except  evil,  where  our  prosaic 
old  legislators  must  still  argue  on  the  ground  that 
woman  is  a  naturally  pure  and  elevated  creature,  and 
shall  never  enjoy  the  indulgence  necessarily  extended 
to  her  fallen  companion !)  —  of  what  my  little  friends 
here  would  be,  surrounded  by  the  chivalrous  institutions 
of  the  West ;  and  I  was  also  thinking  of  what  we 
Western  women  could  make  of  our  world,  had  we  the 


196 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


heroic   humility,    the    faithfulness    to    duty,    the   divine 
unselfishness  of  our  Eastern  sisters. 

You  will  say  that  the  exaggeration  of  a  virtue  is 
revenged  in  Nature's  exacting  balances  by  the  forma- 
tion—  somewhere  —  of  a  fault.  I  must  grant  that,  and 

unnatural  heroic  unself- 
ishness does  often  encour- 
age a  distorted  selfishness 
in  base  natures  quick  to 
seize  their  own  advantage 
from  another's  generos- 
ity ;  and  Japanese  hus- 
bands, especially  those  of 
the  upper  classes,  have 
fallen  into  this  sin,  and 
do  fall  into  it  every  day. 
A  man  who  for  his  father 
and  mother  will  support 
every  privation,  make 
every  sacrifice,  is  cold 
and  indifferent,  perhaps, 
to  the  blameless  woman  at  his  side.  She  is  too  much 
a  part  of  himself  for  him  not  to  be  ashamed  to  lavish 
outward  testimonies  of  regard  upon  her.  She  is  the 
other  self  of  the  inner  life,  which,  for  all  their  appar- 
ent disregard  of  privacy,  is  so  truly  the  inner  life 
that  a  Japanese  never  even  speaks  of  his  wife  unless 
absolutely  obliged  to  do  so.  As  far  as  European  life 
has  touched  them,  the  Japanese  are  willing  to  conform 
to  our  usages  as  regards  the  treatment  of  women  in 


A    JAPANESE    LADY 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  197 

public.  The  wife  of  an  official  accompanies  him  to  pay 
me  a  visit.  Since  the  husband  is  in  office,  the  wife 
may  only  appear  in  European  costume,  and  she  passes 
before  him  according  to  European  traditions.  Perhaps 
the  next  time  they  call  he  has  resigned  his  portfolio  ; 
then  Madame  is  in  her  own  pretty  dress,  and  Monsieur 
enters  first  in  his  own  pretty  way ! 

The  truth  is  that  marriage  is  not,  and  never  can  be 
here,  the  supreme  relation  of  life,  as  it  is  in  Europe. 
Love,  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter;  and  the  experience  of  this  great  passion, 
which  holds  such  a  paramount  place  in  Western  lives, 
is  here  an  exceptional  thing,  a  destiny,  generally  con- 
demned to  be  a  sorrowful  one,  and  eliciting  pity,  and 
something  of  the  praise  we  accord  to  martyrdom,  when, 
as  constantly  happens,  the  poor  lovers,  seeing  their 
union  impossible  in  this  world,  commit  a  double  suicide, 
and  travel  to  the  Meido  together,  sure  of  reunion  in 
the  shadowy  realms,  where,  for  us,  marriage  ties  are 
said  to  be  dissolved.  As  marriages  are  always  arranged 
by  parents  or  friends,  the  young  people's  consent  only 
being  asked  at  the  moment  when  they  have  had  their 
first  interview,  a  very  small  amount  of  personal  feeling 
enters  into  the  contract  —  at  any  rate  in  its  early  stages. 
An  English  bride  would  blush  angrily  were  it  hinted 
that  she  was  notr  as  the  phrase  runs,  in  love  with  her 
new  husband ;  that  rarest  of  passions,  pure  love,  is 
supposed  to  preside  even  at  the  most  fashionable 
weddings.  Not  so  in  Japan.  The  young  girl  here 
would  reply  that  such  passion  is  for  the  women  whom 


198  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

she  need  never  meet ;  the  very  name  of  it  is  unknown 
to  her,  unless  she  has  seen  it  illustrated  in  a  play  at 
the  theatre ;  who  would  think  of  mentioning  such  a  low 
feeling,  where  the  solemn  duty  of  wife  to  husband, 
and  husband's  father  and  mother,  is  concerned  ?  Her 
marriage  is  the  passing  from  childhood's  happy  careless 
life  to  the  responsibilities  of  reason.  Body  and  soul, 
mind  and  spirit,  must  all  tend  to  one  thing  —  the  giving 
entire  satisfaction  to  the  new  master  and  his  family. 

This  seems  very  dreary  and  cold  to  us ;  and  the 
best  European  woman,  educated  in  the  full  conscious- 
ness of  her  own  value,  would  feel  that  she  lost  her 
integrity  by  entering  such  bondage.  That  it  is  done 
by  hundreds  of  girls  every  year  without  any  thought 
of  love  or  duty  either,  but  simply  for  the  sake  of  hav- 
ing a  luxurious  home  and  plenty  of  fun,  does  not  touch 
the  case  at  all.  Our  typical  high-minded  English  maiden 
despises  these  weaker  sisters,  is  ashamed  for  them  as  for 
some  blot  on  womanhood  itself.  The  best  of  her  gods 
is  still  naughty  Cupid ;  and  if  he  is  to  be  shut  out  of 
her  life,  she  would  rather  give  up  the  struggle  at  once. 

And  yet  all  English  history  can  show  no  record  of 
higher,  stronger  love  than  the  Japanese  wife  has  again 
and  again  laid  at  her  lord's  feet.  It  would  seem  as  if 
that  rare  passion  of  which  I  spoke  just  now  may,  in 
fact,  be  born  in  what  we  call  bondage;  may  grow  great 
in  its  nameless  glory  in  these  quiet  lives ;  and  when 
the  time  comes,  may  claim  life,  and  everything  which 
is  dearer  than  life,  with  the  certainty  that  all  will  be 
given  entire.  You  exclaim,  as  you  hear  of  some  amaz- 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  199 

ing  piece  of  heroism,  "  How  the  woman  must  have 
loved  the  man  ! "  And  your  friend,  your  little  Japa- 
nese friend,  looks  up  into  your  face  with  her  childlike 
smile  and  some  surprise  in  her  dark  eyes  :  "  Oh  no,  it 
was  her  duty ;  he  was  her  husband." 

A  little  while  ago,  in  the  coldest  time  of  the  winter, 
the  constable  on  duty  after  dark  in  one  of  the  great 
cemeteries  heard  the  sound  of  bitter  weeping  for  two 
or  three  nights,  and  in  the  darkness  could  not  discover 
where  it  came  from.  At  last  he  found  a  newly  made 
grave  —  the  grave  of  a  young  man.  Incense-sticks  were 
burning  beside  it,  and  on  the  earth,  her  face  turned 
downwards  to  the  buried  face  beneath,  a  young  woman 
lay  weeping.  The  policeman  roused  her,  and  asked 
who  she  was.  "  He  was  my  husband ;  we  had  been 
married  but  a  few  months ;  they  buried  him  here.  Do 
not  send  me  away,"  she  prayed  between  her  sobs. 
"  Weep  in  peace,  O'Karni  San,"  said  the  constable ; 
••  was  he  not  thy  husband  ?  It  is  thy  right  to  be  here." 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  common  amusement  called 
"  falling  in  love  "  has  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the 
affectionate  and  careful  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  mar- 
ried life,  and  that  the  crown  of  an  all-absorbing  wor- 
ship of  one  human  being  for  another  may  be,  and  often 
is,  granted  without  that  passing  preliminary  ailment 
having  been  contracted  at  all. 

Nor  does  what  is  mistakenly  called  "the  plurality 
of  wives "  seem  to  interfere  materially  with  the  true 
wife's  happiness,  or  her  regard  for  her  husband. 
Steeped  as  we  are  in  the  laws  and  prejudices  of  the 


200  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

West,  it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  judge  of  these  questions  •, 
but  since  my  sympathies  naturally  go  with  the  woman, 
the  wife-woman,  who  alone  can  carry  the  noble  name, 
alone  takes  the  responsibility  of  all  the  children's  edu- 
cation, no  matter  who  their  mothers  may  be,  we  shall 
at  any  rate  apprehend  one  aspect  of  the  truth  if  we 
can  grasp  her  point  of  view  —  a  point  of  view  which 
in  ordinary  circumstances  would  not  have  the  defect 
of  over-leniency  at  any  rate. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  but  one  wife  properly 
speaking,  and  it  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  heard  of  that 
any  attempt  was  made  to  intrude  any  other  woman 
into  her  place.  Her  dignities  as  responsible  head  of 
the  household,  as  wife  and  mother,  as  ruler  of  the 
home-world  and  dispenser  of  its  hospitalities  —  these 
could  never  be  taken  from  her ;  nor  would  they  ever 
be  given  to  a  concubine,  if  the  lady  of  the  house  were 
to  die.  Into  her  hands  is  given  her  husband's  income, 
great  or  small ;  she  apportions  it  as  the  best  interests 
of  the  family  require ;  and  the  great  ladies  show  a 
profound  power  of  organisation,  making  property  yield 
its  highest  value,  controlling  all  expenditure  with  a 
good  sense  and  economy  seldom  shown  by  European 
women,  unless  they  have  had  very  special  training  in 
the  management  of  great  affairs.1 

Where  the  property  is  very  large,  the  lady  employs 
a  steward  to  collect  the  rents  and  see  to  the  more  out- 

1  This  part  of  her  duties  has  only  been  laid  upon  the  Japanese  lady  in 
i-ecent  times.  Formerly  she  was  supposed  to  know  very  little  of  the  value 
of  money. 


LETTP:RS  FROM  JAPAN  201 

side  matters;  but  she  never  drops  the  reins,  and  it  is 
to  her,  and  not  to  the  master,  that  all  claims  or  com- 
plaints are  made.  The  steward  is  always  called  her 
steward,  and  may  never  come  into  contact  with  the 
master  at  all.  This  all  entails  very  hard  and  constant 
work,  and  quite  precludes  the  possibility  of  spending 
a  very  idle  life,  as  rich  men's  wives  are  popularly  sup- 
posed to  do.  Her  other  task,  twin  to  this,  is  the  entire 
management  of  the  children's  education  while  they  are 
still  young,  and  her  responsibility  for  their  health  and 
morals. 

Motherhood  is  what  may  truly  be  called  the  supreme 
relation  of  life  for  the  Japanese  woman.  It  crowns 
her  with  honour  and  glory ;  and  although  her  chil- 
dren, if  they  be  boys,  are  considered  superior  beings 
to  the  mother  who  bore  them,  yet  she  shines  with 
every  glory  or  distinction  they  achieve ;  every  success 
of  theirs  is  a  jewel  in  her  crown.  As  in  the  Bible,  so 
here,  the  names  of  great  men's  mothers  are  handed 
down  with  those  of  their  sons ;  and  the  nation  says, 
for  instance,  of  the  Empress  Jingo  Kogo  in  her  brill- 
iant conquest  of  Corea,  "  No  wonder  that  she  did 
valiantly  !  Was  she  not  carrying  her  great  son  Ojin 1 
in  her  bosom  at  that  time,  to  inspire  her  with  wisdom 
and  courage  ?  Like  son,  like  mother  !  " 

It  seems  like  a  compensation  to  Japanese  women 
for  their  judicial  inferiority  to  men  that  the  ruling 
passion  of  a  woman's  heart,  love  for  children,  is  recog- 
nised as  a  national  virtue ;  that  the  reverence  for  child- 

1  Ojin  was  after  his  death  deified  as  Hachiman,  the  god  of  war. 


202 

hood  has  developed  a  system  of  kindness  and  care  and 
protection  of  childhood  such  as  would  be  the  dream, 
the  unrealisable  dream,  of  many  a  broken-hearted 
mother  in  England,  powerless  to  protect  her  children 
from  the  drunken  cruelty  of  the  brute  who  is  their 
father,  or,  in  a  superior  class,  from  the  more  refined 
torture  inflicted  by  schoolmasters  and  other  bullies. 
There  is  no  baby  torture  here,  no  beating,  no  starvation, 
none  of  the  indescribable  horrors  exposed  and  punished 
in  some  degree  by  our  only  too  necessary  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children.  From  one  end 
of  Japan  to  the  other,  a  child  is  treated  as  a  sacred 
thing,  be  it  one's  own  or  a  stranger's.  Each  little  one 
carries  its  name  and  address  on  a  ticket  round  its  neck ; 
but  should  it,  indeed,  stray  from  home,  food  and  shelter 
and  kindness  would  meet  it  everywhere.  Do  not  shud- 
der—  a  man  will  kill  his  child  outright,  scientifically, 
painlessly,  if  he  sees  that  there  is  nothing  but  want  and 
misery  before  it ;  but  while  he  lives  the  child  will  not 
suffer. 

A  terrible  case  came  under  my  own  notice  last  year, 
when  something  very  like  famine  desolated  the  land. 
The  rice-crop  failed,  and  the  want  was  terrible.  Relief 
camps  were  opened,  soup  and  bread  distributed  from 
various  centres  in  the  city,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
managed  by  Archdeacon  S ,  the  (Protestant)  Lega- 
tion Chaplain  (he  and  his  wife  people  of  such  merciful 
goodness  that  everybody  in  trouble  flies  to  their  house, 
and  is  sure  to  find  refuge  and  comfort  there.  Their 
hearts  are  of  pure  gold,  and  their  house  must  be  built 


LETTERS    FROM    JAPAN  203 

of  india-rubber  —  I  wish  one  could  say  the  same  of 
their  income!).  But  it  was  impossible  to  reach  every- 
body, and  starvation  ploughed  the  poorer  quarters  of 
the  city.  At  the  worst  moment  a  coolie  came  to  the 
gate  of  our  Convent  in  Tsukiji,  leading  two  little  girls. 
All  three  were  frightfully  emaciated.  The  poor  father 
entreated  the  nuns  to  take  the  children,  and  bring  them 
up  among  their  orphans.  He  said  he  could  no  longer 
earn  a  livelihood  for  them ;  their  mother  was  dead ;  he 
had  nothing  left  in  the  world.  Alas !  he  was  not  the 
first  who  had  come  on  the  same  errand.  During  the 
few  weeks  before,  one  child  after  another  had  been 
brought  to  the  good  nuns,  or  left  helpless  at  their 
gates,  the  parents  certain  that  it  would  be  cared  for 
by  them.  Every  corner  was  filled  with  sick  and  hun- 
gry people;  the  nuns  had  given  tip  their  one  sitting- 
room,  and  were  living  in  terror  of  the  supplies  giving 
out,  for  many  a  time  the  Superior  has  gone  to  bed  not 
knowing  where  the  money  for  the  next  day's  market- 
ing was  to  come  from — and  this  with  over  three  hun- 
dred mouths  to  feed !  "  It  is  God's  family,"  she  has 
often  said  to  me ;  "  so  it  is  God's  affair,  and  the  money 
will  surely  come,  or  the  food.  He  does  not  intend  that 
we  shall  make  debts ! "  But  on  this  day  the  Sister 
was  frightened.  It  did  not  seem  right  to  crowd  the 
children's  dormitories  any  further,  and  people  were 
sleeping  on  the  floor  in  the  passages  already.  She  gave 
the  poor  man  food,  and  a  tiny  sum,  all  she  could  possi- 
bVy  spare,  in  money.  "  Leave  me  your  address,"  she 
said ;  "  and  the  moment  I  have  room  I  will  send  for 


204  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

the  poor  little  girls.  Have  courage ;  I  will  not  keep 
them  long  waiting."  So  the  man  went,  taking  his  chil- 
dren with  him ;  and  the  nun,  seeing  the  despair  in  his 
eyes,  was  troubled  all  night  about  it,  and  sent  clown 
the  first  thing  in  the  morning  to  tell  him  that  she 
would  risk  it,  he  might  bring  the  little  girls  back.  Both 
children  were  dead.  My  dear  blameless  Sister  Superior 
weeps  whenever  she  remembers  them,  and  that  is  very 
often.  In  that  famine-time  she  saved  many  a  child 
from  being  sold  to  a  much  worse  fate  than  death.  The 
parents  were  mad  with  trouble ;  the  Yoshiwara  man 
offered  money,  would  never  be  unkind  to  the  girls; 
prostitution  was  a  misfortune  certainly,  but  no  disgrace, 
no  crime ;  why  not  let  them  go  ? l  Then  the  poor  little 
girls,  in  their  terror  of  the  unknown,  would  cry  out, 
"  My  cousin  or  my  friend  is  with  the  Tsukiji  Virjen 
Sama ;  take  me  to  them,  Ottottsan ! "  And  that  was 
one  reason  why  the  Convent  was  so  terribly  full  just 
at  that  time. 

I  must  say  a  few  words  more  about  the  woman's 
life  here  before  leaving  these  grave  subjects  for  gayer 
ones.  Perhaps  it  is  really  a  hardship  that  a  young 
and  charming  woman  should  have  to  call  herself  the 

1  Such  traffic  is  forbidden  by  law,  but  is  unfortunately  still  carried  on 
in  secret.  It  is  quite  distinct  from  the  apprenticing  of  girls  to  masters  who 
train  them  as  geisha  (or  dancing-girls).  These  are  highly  educated  accord- 
ing to  Japanese  ideas,  and  are  not  necessarily  disreputable.  Their  training 
is  extremely  severe,  and  every  gift  of  mind  and  body  is  developed  to  the 
highest  point.  Many  have  married  men  in  prominent  positions,  and  those 
whom  I  have  known,  although  not  warmly  welcomed  by  Japanese  ladies, 
have  shown  great  sense  and  dignity  in  the  conduct  of  social  and  domestic 
affairs. 


LETTERS   FKOM   JAPAN 


205 


mother  of  several 
big  girls  and  boys 
who  could  not  by 
any  chance  be  her 
own  children.  I 
am  always  inclined 
to  smile  when  such 
a  woman  gravely 
speaks  of  "  my 
daughter,"  nod- 
ding to  a  girl 
nearly  as  old  as 
herself,  and  per- 
haps without  a 
trace  of  her  own 
delicate  features 
and  innate  high 
breeding ;  but  my 
impression  is  that 
my  friend  herself 
sees  nothing  de- 
rogatory in  it,  al- 
though she  may 
be  very  well  edu- 
cated and  a  Chris- 
tian as  well.  The 
mekake,  or  concu- 
bine, is  in  her  own 
way  a  perfectly  respectable  woman,  probably  taken  from 
the  class  of  small  shopkeepers,  who  do  not  consider  her 


206  LETTEES  FKOM  JAPAN 

accepting  such  a  position  as  any  disgrace.  The  woman 
herself  very  likely  acts  as  a  servant  in  the  house ;  always 
kindly  treated  and  provided  for  to  the  end  of  her  life, 
she  yet  has  no  part  in  her  children,  and  must  only  tend 
and  love  them  as  an  upper  nurse  might  do.  This  is 
the  real  hardship  of  her  lot ;  but  in  the  simplicity  of  the 
Japanese  points  of  view  there  are  many  things  which 
soften  it  for  her.  Although  never  for  a  moment  usurp- 
ing the  mistress's  place,  she  is  treated  with  a  good  deal 
of  consideration  by  the  whole  family,  on  the  principle 
of  her  being  a  favourite  with  the  great  lord  and  mas- 
ter, round  whom  they  all  revolve  in  different  circles 
indeed,  but  all  with  equal  dependence  on  the  domestic 
sun.  If  he  be  a  very  rich  man,  he  will  probably  give 
the  mekake  a  home  to  herself  in  another  part  of  the 
grounds ;  but  there  will  be  no  enmity  between  her 
and  the  great  lady,  the  true  wife,  who  mothers  all 
the  children.  A  young  married  woman  came  to  see 
a  friend  of  mine,  arriving  rather  late  for  an  appoint- 
ment. "  You  look  tired,"  my  friend  remarked  to  the 
visitor.  "I  am  very  tired,"  she  replied;  "we  have 
had  a  dear  new  baby  born  in  the  house.  I  was  up 
all  night  with  the  mother.  We  thought  she  would 
die,  poor  thing ;  but  I  am  glad  to  say  she  is  all  right 
now !  "  This  lady  was  a  Christian  too ;  but  —  the 
King  can  do  no  wrong  in  Japan. 

One  very  good  result  comes  from  the  frank  way 
in  which  these  matters  are  treated.  There  are  no 
illegitimate  children,  as  we  understand  the  term,  be- 
cause every  child  takes  its  father's  name,  and  he  is 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  207 

forced  to  provide  for  its  maintenance.  Even  in  former 
times  the  son  of  the  true  wife  was  looked  upon  as  a 
man's  natural  heir;  but  failing  him,  the  inheritance 
passed  to  his  brother,  whoever  the  latter's  mother 
might  have  been.  Failing  a  half-brother,  it  passed  to 
a  daughter  of  the  true  wife,  and  failing  such,  to  any 
other  daughter  whom  the  man  might  have  had.  Such 
was  the  rule ;  but  where  each  man  was  absolute  mas- 
ter in  his  own  house,  distinctions  of  favouritism  were 
often  arbitrarily  exercised.  A  man  could,  in  fact,  choose 
which  son  should  inherit  his  honours  and  estates,  or 
he  could  put  all  his  own  children  aside,  and  install  a 
stranger  as  head  of  the  family.  Nothing  mattered 
except  that  my  lord's  whims  should  be  carried  out. 
But  now  things  are  different.  A  man  is  responsible 
for  all  his  children,  whoever  their  mother  may  have 
been ;  but  his  title  can  only  be  inherited  by  the  eldest 
living  son  of  his  true  wife,  and,  failing  such,  must  go 
to  the  nearest  collateral  legitimate  heir.  The  next 
heir  to  the  throne  after  Prince  Haru  must  be  the 
son  of  his  Empress,  or,  failing  him,  the  son  of  the 
true  wife  of  the  Prince  nearest  to  the  throne.  This 
new  regulation  is  a  death-blow  to  the  old  system  of 
adoption ;  and,  while  rendering  far  higher  honour  to 
the  true  wife  than  she  had  heretofore  enjoyed,  inflicts 
disabilities  on  the  children  of  concubines,  which  will 
gradually  bring  discredit  on  the  whole  system.  At 
least,  so  it  strikes  me.  It  seems  to  be  the  thin  end 
of  the  wedge  of  external  respectability  according  to 
Western  ideas,  applied  to  the  spot  where  its  touch  will 


208  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

be  most  keenly  felt  —  the  honour  of  the  family  I 
doubt  if  the  new  regulation  will  add  to  the  happiness 
of  the  Japanese  home,  which  for  decorum  and  harmony 
so  far  compares  more  than  favourably  with  the  ordinary 
European  one ;  and  I  see  in  it  a  danger  to  the  perma- 
nency and  strength  of  the  tie  between  father  and  child. 

I  hope  that  my  plain  speaking  will  not  give  the 
false  impression  that  I  undervalue  the  splendid  privi- 
leges which  the  Church  bestowed  on  Christian  men 
and  women  when  she  instituted  Christian  marriage. 
There  is  but  one  state  higher,  the  angelic  life  led  in 
religion ;  and  certainly  we  Western  women  owe  all  our 
freedom  and  honour  to  the  Catholic  Church,  which 
told  the  slaves  that  the  King  of  Heaven  had  died  for 
them,  which  took  the  slave-woman  and  called  her  wife, 
which  to-day  in  the  marriage  service  says  to^  the  man, 
"  Remember,  I  give  thee  a  companion,  and  not  a  slave." 

But  where  the  man  is  no  more  a  Christian  than 
the  ordinary  society  man  in  London ;  where  he  has 
taken  no  vows,  however  flippantly,  binding  him  to  one 
woman ;  where  every  day  humanity  does  not  take  the 
sacred  name  of  love  in  vain,  —  there  I  think  that 
decency,  order,  and  the  family  ties  are  less  outraged 
by  the  existence  of  the  quiet  faithful  concubine  and 
her  children  than  by  the  revolting  arrangements  re- 
sorted to  in  Europe,  where  men,  who  as  the  saying 
goes  "  are  not  straight  to  their  wives,"  are  brought 
without  shame  or  regret  into  the  society  of  women 
from  whom  the  poor  Japanese  mekake  would  shrink 
with  horror. 


LETTERS    FROM   JAPAN  209 

The  counterpart  of  that  class  exists  here.  Com- 
pared to  the  poor  creatures  who  compose  it  in  Europe, 
the  Japanese  women  are  models  of  refinement  and  dis- 
interestedness. But  society  shows  stern  disapproval  of 
the  men  who  frequent  their  company;  a  wife  may  pro- 
test against  such  lapses  without  any  infringement  of 
the  respect  she  owes  her  lord,  and  it  would  be  con- 
sidered her  duty  to  do  so. 

As  a  last  word,  I  should  say  that  there  are  many 
Japanese  families  of  the  upper  class  where  it  has  been 
for  generations  the  custom  to  make  the  wife  supreme 
in  every  way,  and  to  admit  no  mekdke  into  the  family. 
Concubinage  is  an  expensive  luxury  confined  to  the 
upper  classes,  and  is  greatly  on  the  wane  even  among 
them ;  among  the  poor  it  is  unknown ;  and  divorce, 
though  still  fatally  easy,  is  not  often  resorted  to. 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

THE  DEATH  OF  PRINCE  SANJO.  —  A  STATE  FUNERAL.  —  A 
BRAVE  DAUGHTER. —  OGITA's  FAREWELL. — THE  SHIBA 
TEMPLES.  —  A  FEAST  OF  BEAUTY 

March,  1891. 

A  PROFOUND  gloom  has  been  cast  over  the  capital 
-*"*-  by  the  death  of  Prince  Sanjo;  he  was  such  a 
familiar  figure  at  all  the  Court  functions,  he  and  I 
had  sat  through  so  many  dinners,  walked  in  so  many 
processions  side  by  side,  that  I  had  come  to  look  upon 
him  as  an  old  friend ;  he  was  always  kind  and  cheery, 
and  the  wife  and  daughter  had  been  among  those 
whom  I  saw  most  constantly.  They  are  in  terrible 
grief;  and  I  shall  not  see  them  for  many  months,  as 
a  long  period  of  seclusion  will  separate  them  from  the 
world.  They  were  all  with  us  on  Christmas  Day,  and 
the  poor  Prince  took  influenza  almost  immediately  after- 
wards. His  lungs  were  never  very  strong,  and  he  could 
not  weather  the  attack  of  inflammation  which  set  in. 
If  companionship  is  any  comfort  in  grief,  his  family 
ought  to  be  comforted;  for  the  whole  country  mourned 
for  the  Emperor's  friend  and  councillor,  the  quiet,  duty- 
loving  statesman,  who  has  done  so  much  for  progress, 

justice,  and  peace. 

210 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  211 

If  there  were  a  Libro  d'Oro  in  Japan,  the  name  of 
Prince  Sanetome  Sanjo  would  be  among  the  very  first 
in  its  pages.  A  Kuge  (or  descendant  of  an  Imperial 
Prince),  his  pedigree  goes  back  to  Kamatari  (A.D.  626), 
the  founder  of  fourteen  out  of  the  sixteen  Kuge  fami- 
lies existing  to-day.1  Prince  Sanjo  was  always  devoted 
to  the  Imperial  cause,  and  in  very  early  youth  flung 
himself,  his  influence,  and  his  fortune  into  the  struggle 
to  put  down  the  usurpations  of  the  Shogun  and  restore 
the  sovereign  to  the  reality  of  power.  I  have  described 
this  struggle  in  an  earlier  letter.  Prince  Sanjo  was 
but  a  boy  when  it  began ;  at  its  close,  after  fourteen 
years  of  constant  warfare,  he  was  only  thirty  years 
old,  and  had  proved  his  devotion  and  ability  so  com- 
pletely that  he  was  at  once  raised  to  high  rank  in  the 
Government,  and  was  ever  after  looked  upon  by  the 
Emperor  as  the  most  trustworthy  of  his  councillors. 
In  1871  (he  was  then  thirty-four)  he  was  given  the 
post  of  Chancellor  of  the  Empire,  the  highest  in  the 
Administration.  He  held  it  for  fourteen  years,  by  far 
the  most  difficult  years  in  Japan's  stormy  history  — 
years  during  which  all  the  changes  that  we  admire 
to-day  were  introduced  and  consolidated  without  the 
slightest  shock  to  the  national  strength  or  integrity. 
The  country  came  through  the  ordeal,  accompanied 
as  it  was  by  civil  war,  rebellion,  intrigues  without 

1  If  pedigrees  may  be  trusted,  there  is  no  body  of  peers  in  Europe  who 
can  out-class  the  present  peerage  of  Japan.  It  numbers  four  hundred  and 
seventy-three  members  of  the  old  nobility,  and,  of  these,  four  hundred  are 
the  direct  descendants  of  Emperors,  and  possess  written  records  going 
back  for  thirteen  or  fourteen  centuries. 


212  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

and  within,  with  perfect  safety ;  with  the  Emperor 
firmly  seated  on  his  throne,  never  to  be  touched  again 
by  the  ambitions  and  intrigues  of  the  Shoguns ;  with 
enemies  transformed  into  loyal  servants,  friends  re- 
warded for  faithful  service,  the  empire  ready  to  work 
like  one  man  at  the  task  of  setting  its  army  and 
navy,  its  legislation,  its  organisation  on  the  footing 
which  befits  a  great  power.  It  is,  I  fancy,  rare  to 
hear  of  a  Prime  Minister  holding  uninterrupted  office 
for  fourteen  years;  and  it  is  in  our  experience  unpar- 
alleled that  any  nation  should  so  have  transformed  itself 
in  that  period  of  time.  Prince  Sanjo  had  no  personal 
ambition,  and  several  times  begged  for  permission  to 
retire  from  public  affairs,  which  wrere  then  advancing 
safely  and  smoothly.  This  permission  was  at  last  un- 
willingly granted,  in  1885;  he  was  made  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Seal,  and  did  not  again  enter  public  life  till  the 
end  of  1889,  when  he  reluctantly  took  the  leadership 
of  the  Cabinet  at  the  Emperor's  command  after  the 
attempted  assassination  of  Count  Okuma.  Every  one 
recognised  in  him  a  man  of  intense  conscientiousness, 
wisdom,  and  intrepid  courage,  whose  every  good  quality 
acquired  a  double  value  through  his  complete  integrity 
and  disinterestedness. 

There  are  distinctions  in  Japan  which  are  only  granted 
to  dying  greatness.  When  we  heard  that  the  Emperor 
was  about  to  visit  his  faithful  servant,  we  knew  that 
but  one  visitor  would  succeed  him  in  the  quiet  house ; 
the  sovereign  was  the  herald  of  death,  and  he  conferred 
the  honours  which  Sane  tome  Sanjo  must  take  with 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


213 


him  to  the  Meido,  the  shadow  realm,  for  he  could  not 
enjoy  them  here.  As  soon  as  his  desperate  condition 
became  known,  the  Emperor  hastened  to  his  house; 
and  while  the  Prince  was  still  conscious,  told  him  that 
he  had  come  to  thank  him  for  his  life-long  devotion, 


PRINCE    SAN  JO 


and  to  bestow  on  him  the  highest  rank  that  it  is  pos- 
sible for  a  subject  to  hold.  The  people  who  accom- 
panied the  Emperor  tell  us  that  all  his  assumed  calm 
fell  away  from  him  when  he  looked  on  his  friend's 
face,  and  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
he  controlled  his  emotion  as  he  spoke  words  which 


214  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

must  have  been  very  sweet  even  to  dying  ears.  This 
is  what  the  sovereign  said: 

"  In  the  early  years  of  my  reign,  while  I  was  still 
but  a  youth,  you  were  my  greatest  help.  You,  not 
shrinking  from  the  gravest  responsibility,  lent  me 
assistance  so  constant,  so  ready,  and  so  true,  that 
you  were  to  me  as  a  teacher  and  a  father.  Never  did 
you  fail  in  the  discharge  of  your  great  duties.  All  my 
subjects  should  look  up  to  you  as  a  model.  In  recog- 
nition of  your  great  services  and  faithfulness  I  confer 
upon  you  the  First  Class  of  the  First  Rank." 

This  last,  Sho-ichi-i,  is  a  distinction  which  has  not 
been  granted  to  any  subject  for  over  eleven  hundred 
years,  when  it  was  borne  by  one  of  Prince  Sanjo's 
ancestors,  who  died  in  738.  They  say  that  the  poor 
Prince  made  violent  attempts  to  rise  and  salute  the 
Emperor  properly.  A  few  hours  after  the  visit  he 
passed  away,  and  the  world  is  much  the  poorer  by  the 
loss  of  a  good  man. 

The  Imperial  family  practice  the  "  pure  Shinto " 
form  of  religion,  and  Prince  Sanjo's  State  funeral  was 
arranged  altogether  by  Shinto  rules.  These  forbid 
pomp,  but  enjoin  the  use  of  white  robes,  white  woods, 
quantities  of  flowers,  everything  simple  and  cheering 
and  pure.  I  have  heard  the  reproach  of  heartlessness 
again  and  again  made  to  the  Japanese,  on  account  of 
the  calm  and  cheerful  countenances  with  which  they 
accompany  their  dead  to  the  grave.  But  their  long 
and  tender  remembrance  of  the  dead  surely  exonerates 
them  from  the  accusation.  Their  belief  is  that  those 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  215 

who  die  beloved,  and  for  whom  remembrance  is  con- 
stantly made,  do  not  suffer  in  the  shadowy  peace  of 
Meido,  the  home  of  departed  spirits,  which  is  not  a 
prison,  and  from  which  they  constantly  come  to  vi.sit 
the  living,  to  protect  and  comfort  the  bereaved.  Is  it 
possible  that  this  humble  impersonal  faith  can  sustain 
the  survivors  in  the  dreadful  emptiness  of  the  stricken 
home  ?  I  think  it  helps  them  so  greatly,  because  it  is 
a  part  of  eternal  truth  —  just  that  portion  of  it  which 
they  are  fitted  to  apprehend  now.  The  great  Teacher 
does  not  insist  upon  making  all  His  children  learn  the 
same  lesson  the  same  day. 

Our  friend's  funeral  was  very  beautiful  and  very 
simple,  its  greatest  pomp  being  that  which  we  should 
all  love  to  share  in  —  the  true  sorrow  of  grateful  hearts. 
The  white-robed  priests  and  mourners,  the  white  lotus 
flowers  with  their  silver  leaves,  the  exquisite  white-wood 
coffin  with  its  snowy  panoply  —  all  seemed  to  fit  the 
passing  of  his  pure  spirit  to  its  rest.  But  the  whole 
country  mourned  his  loss,  and  there  never  has  been 
seen  such  a  concourse  of  people  in  Tokyo  as  that  which 
lined  the  route  of  the  procession.  The  procession  itself 
was  two  miles  long,  and  passed  over  some  six  miles 
of  distance,  from  the  solemn  house  among  the  fir  trees 
where  he  died,  to  the  Gokakuji  Temple,  where  the 
funeral  rites  were  to  take  place.  It  is  a  beautiful 
place,  with  great  gardens  full  of  flowers,  in  which 
wander  young  bonzes  from  a  college  kept  here  for 
them.  The  Temple  is  the  mortuary  chapel,  as  it  were, 
of  the  Imperial  Cemetery,  a  part  of  the  grounds 


216 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


having  been  set  aside  for 
that  purpose,  now  that 
Emperors  live  and  die  in 
Tokyo.  The  place  is  never 
opened  to  the  public  ex- 
cept when  some  silent 
Prince  or  Princess  comes 
knocking  at  the  gate. 

All  along  the  line  of 
march  really  sorrowing 
crowds  watched  the  train 
go  by,  amid  a  hush  of  in- 
tense respect.  The  troops 
who  accompanied  it  re- 
mained outside  the  gates, 
and  the  rest  passed  in,  up 
long  nights  of  steps  which 
led  to  the  sanctuary  where 
the  service  was  to  take 
place.  All  those  invited 
to  the  funeral  had  already 
assembled  here.  The  her- 
alds of  the  train  were 
a  number  of  white-robed 
men,  carrying  quantities 
of  green  branches  of  the 
sakaki  (Cleyera  Japonicd), 
sacred  to  the  dead.  Then 
came  the  offerings,  which  would  later  be  placed  before 
the  coffin ;  these  were  enclosed  in  a  case,  white  and 


THE    SACRED    LOTUS 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  217 

plain  like  all  the  rest.  A  great  troop  of  Shinto  priests 
followed,  all  white-robed  except  the  high-priest,  who 
wore  purple.  Then,  to  the  sounds  of  the  weirdly  sad 
Shinto  music,  came  a  great  white  banner,  on  which 
were  inscribed  all  the  Prince's  titles  and  honours ;  and 
after  that  quantities  of  people  carrying  the  sakaki 
sprigs,  the  placing  of  which  forms  a  part  of  the  funeral 
ceremony,  and  others  carrying  silver  halberds  and  enor- 
mous trophies  of  flowers  such  as  people  here  send  to 
a  funeral  instead  of  our  wreaths  and  crosses.  Eight 
separate  decorations,  the  most  honourable  in  the  Em- 
peror's gift,  had  been  bestowed  on  the  Prince  at 
different  times  ;  and  these  were  carried  on  cushions  by 
eight  bearers,  all  dressed  in  white ;  and  then  came  a 
goodly  company  in  the  same  costume,  the  chief  ser- 
vants of  the  family.  It  was  their  privilege  immedi- 
ately to  precede  the  bier,  which  was  of  a  lovely  shape, 
like  a  small  temple,  all  carved  out  of  spotless  white 
wood,  the  spruce  which  the  Japanese  call  hi-no-ki.  It 
did  not  look  like  a  coffin,  but  like  a  closed  litter, 
with  beautifully  chased  golden  mountings,  and  fresh 
green  bamboo  blinds  closing  its  little  windows.  The 
roof  rose  at  the  four  corners  in  delicate  ornaments^ 
and  tassels  of  pure  white  silk  hung  against  the  blinds. 
Raised  on  a  system  of  poles  crossed  and  recrossed,  the 
bier  was  carried  by  fifty  men,  all  dressed  in  white.  We 
were  told  that  it  covered  a  double  coffin,  made  also 
of  white  wood.  A  thrill  of  real  sorrow  seemed  to  run 
through  the  great  crowd  as  it  passed,  and  then  all  hearts 
went  out  to  the  boy  and  girl  who  followed  as  chief 


218  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

mourners,  for  their  mother  was  too  prostrated  by  grief  to 
appear.  The  girl  was  my  little  friend,  Princess  Chiye, 
her  beautiful  face  absolutely  rigid,  and  white  as  the  robe 
which  showed  under  her  black  cloak  and  brown  hakama, 
the  kind  of  divided  skirt  worn  on  all  occasions  of  cere- 
mony. Her  little  feet  were  roughly  sandalled,  and  she 
walked  the  whole  way  from  her  father's  house  to  her 
father's  resting-place,  bareheaded,  without  betraying  a 
sign  of  fatigue.  Her  brother,  dressed  in  black  and 
white,  and  wearing  the  same  common  sandals,  walked 
at  her  side ;  and  behind  them  came  four  little  girls,  the 
younger  sisters,  who  wore  no  black,  but  white  crape 
robes  without  a  single  ornament,  and  having  their  long 
hair  tied  back  with  white  ribbon  and  hanging  far  below 
their  waists.  They  were  followed  by  a  crowd  of  rela- 
tions, and  in  this  order  the  procession  passed  at  last 
in  at  the  Temple  gate,  and  up  the  many  steps,  till  they 
stopped  under  a  tent  or  porch  which  had  been  erected 
before  the  door  of  the  Temple.  Here  were  two  pavil- 
ions, in  which  the  family  took  their  seats,  together 
with  the  Imperial  Princes,  the  Ministers,  the  Foreign 
Representatives,  and  the  other  guests. 

The  tent  was  all  draped  in  the  sombre  black  and 
white  stripes  that  I  have  so  often  seen  used  for  Court 
functions.  In  the  centre,  just  before  the  steps,  the 
bier  was  placed  on  a  stand  prepared  for  it ;  the  banners 
and  flower  trophies  were  disposed  on  either  side  of  the 
space  leading  up  to  it ;  and  the  Prince's  Orders  were 
laid  on  little  white-wood  stands  around.  Then  came 
Shinto  chants:  and  the  two  chief  priests  with  their 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  219 

acolytes  prayed  before  the  bier,  and  bent  in  homage 
to  the  dead.  Then  the  chief  priest  took  the  offerings 
of  food,  and  placed  them  on  other  stands  prepared  for 
them ;  and  he  read  aloud,  in  a  high-chanting  voice,  two 
orations  of  farewell  to  the  dead.  In  these  all  the  good 
and  great  acts  of  the  Prince's  life  were  recounted ;  and 
at  the  end  came  the  phrase,  "  May  thy  soul  have  eternal 
rest  and  peace  in  heaven,"  so  like  our  "  Requiem  eternam 
dona  eis,  Domine,  et  lux  perpetua  luceat  eis,"  that  a 
very  deep  chord  of  sympathy  was  touched  in  those 
who  could  understand  the  words. 

But  the  ceremonial  was  terribly  long  for  the  poor 
children,  who  went  through  it,  as  samurai  and  nobles 
should,  without  a  single  change  of  expression  on  their 
young  pale  faces.  How  the  eldest  Princess  bore  it  I 
know  not ;  for  she  worshipped  her  father,  and  the  tie 
between  them  was  that  of  the  most  complete  confidence 
and  intimacy.  When  the  orations  were  over,  the  priests 
distributed  sprigs  of  the  sakaki  to  every  one,  beginning 
with  the  young  Prince,  the  Imperial  Princes,  and  the 
envoys  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress.  When  these 
had  reverently  laid  the  branches  before  the  bier,  the 
poor  little  Princess  and  her  four  sisters  slowly  advanced, 
holding  the  sacred  boughs  in  their  hands,  bowed  to 
the  very  ground  in  the  last  act  of  homage  to  their 
beloved  father,  and  laid  the  green  boughs  on  those 
already  lying  before  his  coffin.  This  was  a  terrible 
moment,  and  seemed  likely  to  be  too  much  for  the 
eldest  daughter's  fortitude ;  but  she  conquered  it,  laid 
her  offering  on  the  rest  with  a  hand  that  trembled  piti- 


220  LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN 

fully,  and  led  her  sisters  back  to  their  place,  uncon- 
quered  by  grief. 

Something  like  two  thousand  people  followed  to 
render  this  green  tribute  to  the  Prince's  memory;  and 
when  that  had  been  done,  most  of  the  guests  returned 
home,  only  a  very  few  having  been  invited  to  attend 
the  actual  burial  in  the  cemetery.  The  road  to  the 
grave  was  all  a  double  wall  of  flowers,  standing  high  on 
either  side  of  a  long  carpeting  of  fine  matting.  Every 
lovely  bloom  that  could  rob  death  of  its  terrors  had 
been  collected  there ;  under  the  bright  Eastern  sun- 
shine a  beautiful  canopy  of  white  wood  hung  high 
over  the  open  stone  vault.  In  the  gardens  around, 
all  life  was  rising  to  its  spring,  and  stately  trees,  the 
guardians  of  the  place,  seemed  to  have  been  waiting 
long  for  this  honoured  and  welcome  guest.  When 
the  white  coffin  had  at  last  been  placed  in  its  quiet 
home,  amidst  a  silence  woven  of  love  and  reverence ; 
when  the  green  boughs  and  the  flowers  and  the  insignia 
of  earthly  glory  had  been  laid  at  the  door,  through  which 
the  honoured  dead  must  pass  alone,  —  then  those  who 
had  been  bidden  to  his  farewell  crept  away,  leaving 
the  poor  children  to  say  their  last  good-byes  alone.  And 
in  that  morning  smile  of  nature,  in  that  perfect  peace 
which  seems  to  have  robbed  death  of  its  fear  and 
bereavement  of  its  sting,  I  trust  that  the  good-byes 
were  not  despairing  ones. 

These  things  happened  in  the  end  of  February,  and 
this  is  the  beginning  of  March.  Alas !  the  spring  has 
robbed  me  of  another  friend,  and  one  whose  like  I  shall 


LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN  221 

not  find  again.  Ogita,  our  samurai,  guide,  interpreter, 
my  right  hand  in  a  thousand  matters  of  life,  has  passed 
away,  unable  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  that  awful 
influenza.  lie  had  been  ailing  for  long,  coughing,  and 
looking  very  thin.  We  think  he  hurt  himself  by  giv- 
ing lessons  in  the  exhausting  Japanese  fencing,  which 
Dr.  Baelz,  one  of  the  strongest  men  I  know,  and 
trained,  as  all  Germans  are,  to  such  exercises,  told  me 
was  so  terribly  fatiguing  that  the  learning  of  it  nearly 
broke  him  down.  Poor  Ogita  was  a  great  swordsman, 
his  family  was  large,  the  Government  pay  none  too 
generous;  so  nothing  was  said  when  it  was  found  that 
he  was  giving  lessons  in  his  spare  time.  After  Christmas 
we  sent  him  down  to  Atami  to  keep  him  out  of  the 
way  of  the  epidemic  ;  but  he  took  it  there,  and  came 
home  at  last,  with  death  written  on  his  face.  Do  you 
wonder  that  I  tell  you  so  much  about  a  mere  servant,  a 
Chancery  writer  ?  He  has  been  so  helpful  and  faithful, 
has  carried  out  all  my  whims  with  such  gentle  patience, 
has  piloted  me  through  so  many  journeys,  taught  me 
so  many  quaint  stories,  that  a  part  of  my  Japanese  life 
has  died  with  him. 

He  had  a  little  house  in  the  grounds,  where  I  went 
constantly  in  the  last  days.  The  old  mother,  the  wife, 
the  five  girls  and  boys,  always  received  me  with  an 
air  of  gay  satisfaction,  and  never  let  me  see  them  break 
down  at  all  till  quite  the  end.  In  the  bare  little  house 
on  the  worn  mats  lay  my  poor  friend,  too  weak  to  speak, 
but  with  a  light  of  welcome  always  shining  for  me  in 
his  eyes.  He  was  a  tall  man,  of  soldierly  bearing,  and 


222  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

there  was  something  very  pitiful  in  seeing  him  lying,  so 
long  and  weak,  on  the  floor  of  the  tiny  room,  which 
seemed  so  much  too  small  for  him.  Behind  him,  to 
keep  off  any  draught,  was  a  six-leaved  screen  out 
of  my  sitting-room,  with  gay  summer  landscapes  and 
dancing  waterfalls  painted  on  the  panels.  What  com- 
forts could  help  him  he  had ;  and  though  the  rooms  were 
small,  at  any  rate  the  house  was  his  home,  and  he  was 
surrounded  by  all  the  love  of  mother  and  wife  and 
children.  The  children  were  greatly  on  his  mind ;  but 
when  their  future  was  provided  for  to  his  satisfaction, 
he  was  quite  content  to  die,  and  said  to  me  once  or 
twice,  "  Okusama  is  very  kind;  I  would  get  well  if  I 
could ;  but  I  can  never  travel  with  her  any  more,  and  I 
am  too  tired  to  live."  To  the  very  last  his  two  hands 
always  went  up  to  his  brow  when  I  entered,  even  after 
he  could  not  speak ;  and  I  used  only  to  stay  a  minute 
or  two  at  a  time,  for  fear  of  exhausting  him.  We  had 
had  many  a  conversation  about  the  future  life  ;  but,  alas  i 
he  had  lived  too  long  among  careless  Christians  to  have 
any  special  regard  for  Christianity.  He  had  seen  in 
his  twenty  years  of  Government  service  bad  men  and 
good,  among  the  Christians  as  among  the  sects  of  his 
countrymen  —  less  good,  perhaps,  among  the  former  than 
among  the  latter.  There  was  no  ground  for  a  conversion 
here,  and  he  went  out  among  the  shadows  a  valiant, 
humble,  upright  soul,  a  samurai  and  a  gentleman  to  the 
last ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that  any  true  gentleman  was 
ever  shut  out  of  heaven  yet.  They  left  me  alone  with 
him  for  a  while  the  day  after  he  was  dead;  he  la}' 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  223 

very  straight  and  stiff,  with  a  smile  of  peace  on  his  thin 
face.  His  hands  were  crossed  on  his  breast,  and  his 
long  blue  robes  were  drawn  in  straight  folds,  all  held 
in  place  with  little  packets  of  tea,  which  filled  the 
room  with  a  dry  fragrance ;  the  coffin  was  lined  with 
these,  and  his  head  rested  on  a  pillow  of  the  same. 
Beside  him  on  a  stand  lay  his  most  precious  possession, 
his  sword ;  and  before  the  weeping  wife  left  me  kneel- 
ing there,  she  touched  my  shoulder,  and  pointed  to  the 
sword,  bowing  her  head  in  reverence,  and  whispering, 
"  Samurai,  Okusama !  "  Incense-sticks  were  burning  in 
bronze  vases  at  either  end  of  the  sword,  and  freshly 
gathered  flowers  stood  on  the  floor  near  the  coffin  head. 
Behind  was  still  my  screen,  not  turned  upside  down, 
as  it  should  have  been  in  the  presence  of  the  dead 
(perhaps  because  it  was  mine ) ;  and  in  the  little  room, 
bared  of  all  except  that  which  was  left  to  honour  my 
poor  friend,  the  summer  landscapes  and  dancing  water- 
falls spoke  of  hope  and  new  life  and  a  world  where  a 
tired  spirit  might  rest  earth's  weariness  away. 

So  they  took  our  samurai  home ;  and  after  the  first 
bursts  of  grief,  far  less  restrained  among  the  poorer 
women  than  among  the  nobles,  I  think  the  old  mother 
and  the  wife  and  the  little  girls  have  found  comfort 
in  visiting  the  quiet  grave  in  Shiba,  where  Ogita  lies. 
All  little  gifts  are  stored  up  to  carry  there  ;  CTIone  San, 
the  baby  girl  of  three,  whom  her  father  worshipped 
devoutly,  saves  up  all  the  pretty  cakes  that  find  their 
way  from  my  tea-table  to  her  little  brown  hands. 
"  Ottottsan's !  "  she  says  when  they  are  given  to  her;  and 


224 

a  piece  of  paper  has  to  .be  found  to  wrap  them  in,  and 
they  are  put  in  the  alcove  in  the  place  of  honour  till 
she  and  her  mother  pay  their  next  visit  to  Shiba ; 
and  then  they  are  laid  with  many  a  tender  word  on 
Ottottsaris  grave,  to  comfort  him  if  he  is  lonely  or 
hungry  in  the  Meido.  Good-bye,  kind  friend  and 


THE    SHIBA    CEMETERY 


faithful  servant.     "  May  thy  soul  have  eternal  rest  and 
peace  in  heaven  !  " 

And  now,  as  I  have  spoken  of  Shiba,  I  must  tell  you 
something  of  those  Shiba  Temples  which  are  the  pride 
of  Tokyo  —  temples  built  mostly  as  tombs  or  temporary 
mortuary  chapels  for  the  Shoguns  of  the  Tokugawa 
Dynasty.  Its  founder,  lyeyasu,  lies  at  Nikko  (as  does 
his  grandson,  lyemitsu);  but  during  his  lifetime  he  sud- 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  225 

denly  realised  that  he  had  no  especial  temple  of  his  own ; 
"and  that,"  said  he,  "is  a  thing  unheard  of  for  a  great 
general !  I  must  immediately  select  a  temple,  where 
I  can  pray  during  my  life,  and  where  others  will  pray 
for  me  when  I  am  dead !  "  The  result  of  these  pangs 
of  conscience  was  the  choice  of  the  great  Temple  of 
Zojoji,  in  what  is  now  called  the  Shiba  Park,  as  the 
one  where  his  iliai  (mortuary  tablet  bearing  his  post- 
humous name  and  titles)  should  be  set  up.  The  Temple 
was  administered  by  priests  of  the  Jodo  sect  of  Bud- 
dhists ;  it  was  extremely  rich  and  splendid,  but  was 
burnt,  in  revenge  it  is  said,  when  in  1873  the  Buddhists 
were  banished,  and  the  Temple  given  over  to  "  pure 
Shinto."  A  smaller  and  poorer  one  was  built,  which 
seems  out  of  place  behind  the  magnificent  triple  gate 
(Sammon)  which  remains  from  the  days  of  its  prede- 
cessor. But  the  mortuary  temples  (not  intended  for 
public  worship)  were  fortunately  not  burnt,  and  contain 
wonders  of  lacquer  and  painting  and  carving.  The 
great  red  gates,  with  their  scarlet  columns  and  big 
lanterns  and  wheeling  flights  of  pigeons  (tame  as  those 
of  San  Marco),  are  quite  beautiful  to  look  at;  and  I 
often  drive  past  them  just  to  see  the  pigeons  gathering 
round  the  feet  of  some  girl  who  stands  in  the  great 
opening  feeding  them  with  grain  bought  at  the  little 
booths  which  line  the  terrace,  while  behind  her  the 
sun  touches  hundreds  of  huge  stone  lanterns  in  the  grey 
inner  court.  And  when  the  spring  has  come,  when 
the  tall  camellia  trees  are  flinging  the  petals  and  the 
perfume  of  their  single  rose-coloured  blossoms  all  abroad 


226  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAX 

(petals  so  delicate  that  it  seems  wrong  to  walk  on  them, 
perfume  so  fragrant  that  one  longs  to  store  and  carry 
it  away),  then  the  courts  of  the  Shiba  Temples  are 
happy  places  to  wander  through ;  its  nights  of  grey 
stone  steps  make  seats  where  one  can  rest  and  dream 
a  sunny  hour  away  with  much  profit.  For  the  sun  is 
the  master  of  the  house ;  and  unless  you  find  him  at 
home,  you  may  as  well  leave  your  card  and  come 
another  day.  The  dusky  splendours  of  the  sacred 
buildings  will  be  invisible  to  you  unless  he  illuminates 
them ;  the  paintings  and  carvings  withdraw  into  space, 
and  none  of  the  fairy-work  will  *show  itself  rightly, 
except  at  the  touch  of  the  great  magician. 

The  friend  who  took  me  there  the  first  time  had 
spent  days  and  weeks  in  making  drawings  of  some  of 
the  wonders  of  decoration  on  panel  and  roof;  and  he 
would  not  let  me  go  near  the  temples,  until  one  glorious 
morning  when  it  seemed  as  if  a  hundred  suns  were 
shining  at  once.  Then  the  wide  courts,  with  their 
armies  of  lanterns,  their  limpid  fountains  for  the  washing 
of  the  worshippers'  hands,  their  stately  stairs  and  fern- 
set  walls,  all  seemed  so  attractive  that  I  had  no  great 
desire  to  enter  the  dark  buildings.  But  my  want  of 
enterprise  was  taken  no  notice  of,  and  I  was  glad,  for 
the  contents  of  the  casket  were  equal  to  the  outer 
covering.  Through  a  splendidly  carved  dragon-gate, 
we  passed  to  an  inner  court,  where  are  two  hundred 
and  twelve  bronze  lanterns,  very  stately  to  behold. 
Beautiful,  also,  is  the  cistern  for  holy  water,  per- 
petually brimming  with  a  crystal  flood  which  never 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


227 


overflows.  Then  we  pass  to  an  inner  court  still,  whose 
galleries  are  adorned  with  elaborate  paintings;  over 
our  heads  a  beautiful  winged  woman  hovers,  painted  in 
the  purest  and  most  brilliant  colours;  and  everywhere 
endless  interweavings  of  those  wave  and  wind 


are 


patterns    which    symbolise    the    original     principles    in 
nature,    the    Fung    Shui    (wind    and    water    spirits)    of 


GATE    OF    THE    SHIBA    TEMPLE 


China.  It  would  take  many  days  to  note  all  the 
changes,  the  beautiful  elaborations  worked  from  these 
through  hundreds  of  developments,  in  each  of  which 
the  artist  gives  a  new  shape  and  meaning  to  the  rush 
of  the  hurricane,  the  curl  and  spray  of  the  wave.  But 
we  pass  on  from  the  gallery  intended  for  the  Daimyos, 
who  accompanied  each  Shogun  when  he  came  here, 
to  his  own  temple,  to  pray.  They  might  not  go  with 


228  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

him  to  the  inner  sanctuary,  the  Honden ;  there  he 
entered,  and  offered  up  his  devotions  alone,  while  they 
sat,  the  greater  divided  from  the  less,  in  perfect  silence 
without.  All  this  painting  and  gilding  and  carving 
must  have  proved  a  great  interest  and  solace,  if  the 
Sliogun  was  long  at  his  prayers.  We  passed  on  to  the 
inner  sanctuary,  having  slipped  off  our  shoes  so  as  not 
to  scratch  the  polished  and  lacquered  steps  with  our 
hard  heels. 

I  believe  there  is  in  the  human  being  a  profound 
hunger  and  thirst  for  beauty  for  its  own  sake  ;  there 
are  chords  in  our  hearts  which  thrill  at  the  sight  of 
piled  gold  and  rippling  jewels,  at  the  miracles  of  per- 
fect, priceless  decoration,  as  they  thrill  at  great  music 
or  a  splendid  sunset.  Now  and  then  in  life  this  hunger 
is  satisfied  by  a  feast,  and  more  than  a  feast,  of  beauty ; 
the  soul  is  intoxicated  with  the  new  wine  of  gold  and 
colour  and  magnificence,  and  understands  in  that  tri- 
umphant flush  some  secret  of  the  permanent  and  divine 
essence  of  beauty  which  it  never  can  apprehend,  or 
affects  to  forget,  in  the  sober  daylight  of  its  working 
existence.  When  I  found  myself  face  to  face  with  the 
marvel  called  the  Octagonal  Shrine,  I  felt  that  I  was 
in  presence  of  the  supreme  effort  of  art  in  one  particu- 
lar direction  —  that  this  vision  of  the  eight-sided  shrine 
of  pure  gold  lacquer,  from  whose  depths  trees  and  hills, 
birds  and  beasts,  have  been  as  it  were  resolved  for  us 
to  see,  whose  sides  and  pinnacles  shine  with  gems  and 
fairy-work  of  rainbow  enamel,  this  indeed  could  rank 
with  my  visit  to  the  green-draped  shrine  in  the  Dresden 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


229 


Gallery  where  the  Sistine  Madonna  reigns  in  the  silence, 
with  golden  hours  passed  under  Michelangelo's  cypresses 
in  the  gardens  of  our  home,  with  our  sailings  in  the 
summer  moonlight  past  the  islands  of  the  syrens  to  the 
violets  of  Paestum :  here  was  one  more  piece  of  perfect 


THE     HALL    OF    THE     BOOKS 


U'auty,  mine  for  ever  in  the  inalienable  kingdom  of 
remembrance.  I  have  but  to  close  my  eyes,  and  there 
rises  before  me  this  golden  flower  of  beauty  blooming 
on  its  petalled  base  in  hazy  glory ;  the  sun  falls  on  it 
down  the  softened  air,  and  seems  to  kiss  it  into  warmth 
and  life.  The  columns  all  around  reach  up,  as  if  they 


230  LETTERS  FKOM   JAPAN 

had  grown  of  themselves  in  bars  of  pure  gold,  to  fence 
the  treasure  in  from  floor  to  ceiling ;  and  the  roof  itself, 
with  all  its  sombre  splendour,  seems  a  shadowy  reflec- 
tion of  the  jewelled  casket  below.  It  contains But 

who  cares  what  it  contains  ?  The  perfume  of  the  rain- 
bow and  the  elixir  of  life,  most  like !  No,  only  a  little 
image  of  the  Shogun  Hidetada  and  his  mortuary  tablet ; 
and  the  Shogun  himself  lies  deep  in  the  ground  below 
our  feet,  rolled  in  vermilion  and  charcoal  to  preserve 
his  bones.  Gladly  must  his  spirit  hover  over  the  place 
where  his  memory  is  enshrined  in  all  that  beauty ! 

There  are  other  chapels  and  other  shrines  in  Shiba's 
magic  courts  —  shrines  of  surpassing  richness  and  love- 
liness ;  and  if  we  ever  go  there  together,  you  shall  visit 
them  first :  we  will  linger  in  the  great  hall  of  the  books, 
where  the  sacred  scrolls  lie  swathed  in  silk,  each  in  its 
lacquered  box  on  its  lacquered  stand ;  we  will  see  paint- 
ings and  carvings,  angels  and  demons,  peonies  and  lotus 
flowers  in  a  hundred  lovely  tints ;  and  then,  when  you 
are  inured  to  hardihood  through  this  orgy  of  colour  and 
decoration,  we  will  visit  the  tomb  of  the  Second  Shogun. 
We  will  see  it  un dazzled,  sober  still,  if  possible,  but 
shall  want  no  more  sights  afterwards.  Siifficit! 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

IN  THE  EMPRESS'S  OWN  GARDEN.  —  A  WHITE  SAIL  SET 
SQUARE  TO  THE  WIND.  —  THE  BOYS'  FESTIVAL,  ITS 
ORIGIN  AND  MEANING. — HIDEYOSHI  AND  HIS  BATTLE 
STANDARD.  —  THE  MONGOLIAN  INVASION 

TOKYO,  May,  1891. 

rPIHE  Empress's  own  cherry  blossoms  were  in  all 
-*-  their  glory  in  April,  when  she  invited  us  to  come 
to  her  Palace  garden  by  the  sea  to  look  at  them. 
Something  interfered  with  the  festival  last  year,  so 
this  was  my  first  visit  to  the  Hama  Rikyu,  or  Enryo 
Kwan.  Everywhere  the  cherry  blossoms  have  been 
perfect  this  year ;  our  own  garden  is  a  dream  of 
loveliness.  There  has  been  just  enough  rain  to  bring 
on  the  flowers  without  drowning  them,  and  at  one 
moment  the  whole  place  was  like  the  rose-coloured 
wedding  that  we  once  had  in  the  family.  Do  you 
remember  the  transformation  of  that  December  day  ? 
Winter  seemed  a  thousand  years  away,  when  we  went 
down  to  see  the  Empress's  cherry  blossoms.  The 
llama  Rikyu  consists  more  of  gardens  than  palace;  for 
the  house,  though  pretty,  is  small,  and  is  chiefly  used 
for  the  accommodation  of  illustrious  visitors.  It  was 
there  that  our  two  young  Princes  were  received  when 

231 


232  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

they  visited  Tokyo.  The  Empress  stays  there  for  a 
few  weeks  in  the  late  spring  to  enjoy  the  freshness  of 
the  sea  breezes,  which  blow  in  at  the  wide  windows. 
The  sea  rolls  up  to  the  foot  of  the  walls  on  one  side ; 
and  the  garden  is  built  out  into  the  water,  like  Mira- 
mar,  near  Trieste.  The  flowery  alleys  wind  about 
amongst  lakes  and  canals,  where  real  waves  come  beat- 
ing boldly  against  the  toy  bridges.  There  are  islands 
with  quaint  pavilions  perched  on  their  green  summits, 
and  arbours,  and  boats,  and  all  the  furniture  of  a  fairy 
tale;  and  everywhere,  above  the  floating  strains  of  the 
gay  bands,  above  the  murmur  of  talk  and.  singing  of 
the  wind  in  the  trees,  comes  the  august  chant  of  the 
sea  —  the  chant  that  began  when  all  this  rich  country 
was  a  reed-grown  marsh,  when  the  wild  foxes  were 
the  only  courtiers,  and  Emperors  and  Empresses  of 
Japan  were  called  Prince  Fire-Shine  and  Princess  Fire- 
Subside,  and  the  Flood-Tide  Jewel  and  the  Ebb-Tide 
Jewel,  in  the  play-grounds  of  mythology.  The  sea  is 
with  us  still,  and  has  never  turned  courtier.  As  we 
walked  through  the  gardens  in  the  usual  official  pro- 
cession behind  the  sovereigns,  we  looked,  with  all  the 
uniforms  and  finery,  like  some  huge  dazzling  snake, 
gliding  in  and  out  of  all  the  narrow  paths,  hanging  on 
red  bridges,  losing  its  lengths  in  green  dells ;  and  the 
breeze  rioting  in  from  the  bay  rained  down  cherry 
blossoms  on  our  heads. 

Suddenly  we  came  out  on  a  wide  terrace  close  to 
the  sea;  the  salt  water  was  lapping  against  the  stones 
at  our  feet ;  the  sea-gulls  flew  inland  with  wild  cries, 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  233 

the  afternoon  sun  turning  their  wings  to  dull  gold ; 
the  gardens  stretched  back  towards  the  town,  their 
mountains  of  rosy  bloom  seeming  to  break  like  spray 
against  the  black-green  pines  on  the  steeps  of  Count 
Ito's  garden.  And  just  then,  in  the  tearing  breeze,  a 
native  boat,  with  its  great  white  sail  set  square  to  the 
wind,  seemed  to  be  rushing  down  on  us  for  a  moment 
—  came  so  near  that  for  one  breathless  space  we  heard 
the  water  cutting  cold  against  the  prow ;  the  brine 


A    VKKV    OLD    CIIEKKY    TREE    IN    BLOOM 


from  the  new-made  wavelets  came  salt  on  the  air,  and 
a  rim  of  spray  hung  between  us  and  the  sun ;  then 
the  boat  turned  and  tacked,  and  fled  up  the  bay,  carry- 
ing some  stray  pink  petals  lodged  in  the  hollow  of 
the  sail.  It  was  just  a  piece  of  bare  delicious  nature, 
let  down  before  our  eyes  as  a  contrast  to  all  the  arti- 
ficialities of  the  Court.  Perhaps  even  that  is  less 
artificial  here  than  it  wrould  be  over  the  water.  Our 
dainty  Empress,  who  has  the  soul  of  a  poet,  had 
ordered  from  her  own  looms  a  robe  of  pale  apple- 


234  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

green  brocade,  with  bunches  of  rosy  cherry  blossoms 
scattered  over  it.  The  effect  was  quite  lovely.  A  soft 
green  velvet  mantle,  and  a  bonnet  of  white  lace  and 
jewels,  made  one  forget  that  the  gown  had  to  be  made 
in  European  fashion ;  and  the  Empress  herself  seemed 
very  happy  that  day,  as  if  she  were  frankly  enjoying 
the  flowers  and  the  sunshine,  and  even  the  bonbons, 
cherry  blossoms  and  brown  twigs  and  fairy  grasses,  all 
done  in  sugar  by  that  famous  Court  confectioner ! 
She  kept  me  with  her  longer  than  usual,  asking  many 
kind  questions  about  some  -theatricals  which  we  had 
had  for  a  charitable  object,  an  infirmary  which  was 
much  wanted,  and  for  which  she  had  kindly  sent  me 
a  generous  cheque. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  I  came  away  with  regret 
from  one  of  these  stiff  parties ;  the  whole  thing  was 
so  wonderfully  pretty  and  fresh.  But  I  suppose  we 
shall  soon  see  the  gardens  of  the  Enryo  Kwan  again, 
since  the  Cesarevitch,  who  is  expected  for  a  visit  to 
Japan,  will  be  lodged  there. 

Very  great  preparations  are  being  made  for  this 
royal  visit.  The  apartments  in  the  Palace  by  the  sea 
have  all  been  furnished  and  decorated  anew  ;  there  are 
to  be  triumphal  arches  and  illuminations  and  Court 
balls ;  and  the  Emperor  intends  to  lavish  honours  — 

and  fun  —  on  his  guest.  The  S s  at  the  Russian 

Legation  have  transformed  their  somewhat  dingy  house 
into  a  bower  of  flowery  beauty;  I  have  just  been 
going  over  it,  and  rather  envied  the  Grand  Duke  the 
two  thousand  pots  of  lilies  in  bloom  which  are  to  line 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPA3*  23o 

the  great  staircase.  They  must  have  spent  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  money,  for  they  have  had  to  build 
an  immense  ballroom  out  into  the  garden ;  and  as 
there  was  no  time  for  painting  and  papering,  the 
whole  place  has  been  lined  with  Japanese  crapes  in 
brilliant  colours,  palms,  and  ferns,  and  creeping  plants. 

I  could  not  help  condoling  a  little  with  Madame  S 

on  the  endless  bother  of  the  whole  thing.  "  How  can 
you  say  such  a  word !  "  she  cried,  with  flashing  eyes, 
"Bother!  It  is  a  joy  to  do  anything  for  our  sover- 
eign's son.  I  wish  we  could  have  done  fifty  times 
more ! " 

And  now,  since  it  is  May,  and  since  the  Cesarevitch 
cannot  be  here  for  a  few  days  yet,  let  me  tell  you  of 
the  strange  symbolic  rejoicing  called  the  Boys'  Festival, 
which  is  peopling  the  town  with  flying-fish,  rising  and 
falling  from  their  gilt  poles  on  every  breeze — fish  of 
every  size  and  colour,  but  all  of  one  shape,  the  shape  of 
the  koi,  the  undaunted,  unconquerable  carp. 

When  the  fifth  day  of  the  fifth  month  has  come, 
the  streets  of  Tokyo  and  of  every  city  in  the  empire 
are  alive  with  these  quaint  banners  fluttering  in  the 
wind.  A  stranger  might  congratulate  himself  on  having 
arrived  at  a  moment  of  public  rejoicing;  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the  amazement  with  which  I  regarded 
the  flying-fish  and  their  golden  rice-balls,  when  I  first 
arrived  here,  in  May,  two  years  ago.  Now  they  are 
a  part  of  the  spring;  and  it  seems  as  if  its  best  days 
were  past  when  they  no  longer  hover  over  the  low 
brown  roofs. 


236  LETTEES  FROM  JAPAN 

For  all  its  festal  aspect,  no  crowds  or  knots  of 
holiday-makers  are  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  the 
city ;  no  drums  are  beating  the  time  of  a  religious 
festival :  everything  is  quiet.  The  shops  are  open ; 
customers  are  coming  and  going ;  brown  little  children 
with  bare  legs  play  with  bean-bags  in  the  roads;  the 
young  girl  walks  slowly  along  in  her  clattering  cjheta 
(clogs)  and  silken  kimono,  followed  by  her  attendant 
maid,  who  carries  her  books  from  school ;  the  business 
man  in  native  costume  and  " bowler"  hat  wheels  by 
in  his  jinriksha  to  his  day  Is  work.  Busy  life  seems 
going  on  everywhere,  undisturbed,  beneath  the  rustling 
wave  of  bright  colour  which  floats  over  the  town. 
Bright,  indeed !  The  banners  which  fly  from  almost 
every  house  are  all  in  the  shape  of  gigantic  fishes, 
painted  blue  or  red  or  grey,  with  silver  scales,  made 
of  paper  or  cotton  cloth,  and  hollow  so  that  they  swell 
and  rise,  shrink  and  fall,  as  the  wind  takes  or  leaves 
them.  Very  realistic,  indeed,  are  their  gaping  mouths, 
huge  eyes,  and  fins,  and  the  sheen  of  their  scales 
glinting  in  the  sunlight.  They  are  of  various  sizes, 
though  always  large,  and  all  made  after  one  pattern  — 
that  of  the  koi,  or  carp. 

The  koi  is  the  emblem  of  a  male  child  and  of  luck ; 
and  this  is  the  Boys'  Festival,  0  Sekku  or  Tango,  as  the 
Japanese  call  it. 

Fish  in  Japan  takes  the  place  of  beef  in  England, 
and  next  to  rice  is  the  staple  product  of  the  country. 
On  the  birth  of  a  son,  the  support  of  the  house,  the 
relations  and  friends  send  or  bring  with  their  con- 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  239 

gratulations  live  koi  swimming  about  in  tubs  of  water ; 
and  at  this  feast  parents  are  entitled  to  display  a  paper 
fish  for  each  son,  the  younger  the  child  the  larger 
the  fish,  and  vice  versa.  This  toy  fish  is  attached  to 
a  long  bamboo  pole,  which  is  hoisted  in  front  of  the 
house,  often  with  other  ornamental  flags  and  signs, 
such  as  a  wind-wheel  or  a  gilded  wicker  basket,  which 
may  stand  for  the  puffy  ball  of  rice  paste  with  which 
the  real  fish  are  fed.  Several  fish  may  often  be  seen 
flapping  around  one  pole ;  and  proud  is  that  house,  for 
it  means  that  the  master  is  blest  with  many  sons. 

But  the  carp  does  not  stand  (or  swim)  only  for 
luck  and  good  cheer.  That  wonderful  feat,  only  ac- 
complished after  persevering  efforts,  of  swimming  up 
the  rapids  (taki  nobori),  is,  as  I  think  I  said  before, 
the  symbol  of  the  brave  youth  who  overcomes  the 
difficulties  and  obstacles  of  life.  I  do  not  think 
European  carp  ever  attempt  the  enterprise,  and  it  was 
only  when  I  came  to  Japan  that  I  learnt  that  it  is 
possible.  Here  it  has  passed  into  a  proverb,  and  is 
a  favourite  subject  with  the  native  artists,  the  valiant 
carp  being  now  synonymous  with  the  abstract  virtues 
of  perseverance  and  fortitude.  The  legend  says  that 
when  he  has  scaled  the  waterfall  a  white  cloud  from 
heaven  sweeps  down  and  catches  up  the  triumphant 
fish,  who  then  becomes  a  dragon.  The  brave  koi,  un- 
daunted by  the  most  fearful  difficulties,  is  pointed  out 
to  the  boy  to  impress  upon  him  that  the  prizes  of 
life  are  not  for  the  sluggard  or  the  coward,  and  its 
presence  in  lifelike  similitude  at  his  birthday  feast  is 


240  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

meant  to  act  as  an  incentive  to  manly  action  and 
unflagging  courage. 

His  birthday  feast  it  is,  at  whatever  time  of  the 
year  he  may  have  been  born.  Except  for  the  purpose 
of  casting  a  horoscope,  the  real  day  of  his  birth  will  be 
seldom  remembered ;  and  just  as  every  girl's  festival  is 
March  3rd,  so  every  boy's  festival  proper  is  May  5th, 
although  the  whole  month  is  more  or  less  his,  and  the 
fish  float  triumphantly  from  their  ^enormous  nagstaffs 
until  the  heats  of  June.  It  is  on  May  5th  that  the 
little  feast  is  kept  inside  the  house  —  every  house,  rich 
or  poor,  that  Heaven  has  honoured  with  a  son.  And 
in  all  we  should  see  the  same  symbols,  the  same  flowers ; 
for  sons  belong  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich,  and 
are  counted  as  the  props  of  the  home. 

First  of  all,  in  the  matted  dwelling,  one  notices  that 
in  the  floral  arrangements,  which  are  a  distinct  part  of 
every  ceremonial,  a  marked  preference  is  shown  for 
the  long  graceful  leaves  and  spirited  flowers  of  the 
iris.  On  the  raised  da'is,  the  place  of  honour,  in  the 
chief  room,  one  will  see  a  fine  lacquer  table  supporting 
a  vase,  or  more  often  a  flat  dish,  of  these  lovely  flowers, 
every  leaf  and  blossom  shooting  up  at  exactly  the  right 
angle  of  strength  and  grace  —  the  result  of  an  hour's 
work  or  more,  but  looking  so  exquisitely  natural  that 
it  seems  incredible  they  should  not  have  grown  so  by 
themselves,  up  from  the  limpid  water  where  a  tiny 
wedge  of  bamboo  is  really  holding  them  all  irrevocably 
in  place.  In  another  room  is  a  wicker  basket,  or  bam- 
boo hanging  vase,  pierced  in  two  or  three  places;  and 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  241 

from  this  the  swordlike  leaves  emerge  with  a  will  of 
their  own,  and  the  delicate  flower-de-luce  hangs  its 
petals  over  them  like  white  and  purple  flags,  well-wishing 
them  through  the  fight. 

At  this  time  of  year  the  table  at  a  Japanese  dinner 
party  is  a  study  of  what  can  be  done  with  these  most 
characteristic  flowers.  I  was  at  one  a  little  while  ago, 
where  all  the  decoration  consisted  of  green  bamboo,  of 
the  most  perfect  and  polished  surface,  cut  into  sections 


... 


A    I'LEASCKE-BOAT    ON    THE    CANAL 


of  different  lengths,  and  set  upright  in  perfect  grada- 
tion in  three  groups,  spaced  down  the  long  table.  In 
these  natural  organ  pipes  were  arranged  thin  screens  of 
iris  flowers,  ranging  from  deep  purple  to  pale  mauve, 
with  their  pointed  leaves  shooting  up  like  swords  among 
them.  Every  grace  of  stem,  every  vigorous  breaking 
of  flower  from  sheath,  or  leaf  from  leaf,  was  displayed 
with  unerring  knowledge  and  decision;  and  the  result 
-forgive  repetition  —  was  the  most  perfect  picture  of 
strength  and  grace  that  it  is  possible  to  see. 


242  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

But  to  return  to  our  little  Japanese  boy  and  his 
festival.  To-day  Yasu,  or  Saburo,  or  Takenori  would 
in  old  times  have  expected  to  find  the  entrance  of  his 
house  all  decked  with  iris  leaves  in  the  morning ;  and 
he  and  his  friends  would  have  plaited  little  toy  swords, 
and  have  done  some  sharp  mock  fighting,  just  to  mark 
the  day.  For  fighting  was  what  the  young  samurai 
had  to  learn ;  and  a  friend  tells  me  that,  in  order  to 
harden  young  boys  and  make  them,  absolutely  indifferent 
to  suffering,  he  and  his  young  townsmen  were  obliged 
to  rise  from  their  warm  beds  between  three  and  four 
on  a  winter's  morning,  and  go  in  a  single  robe,  bare 
of  head,  and  bare  of  foot,  to  the  fencing-ground,  where 
many  a  hard  blow  was  dealt,  and  the  young  blood, 
warmed  by  the  fight,  threw  off  the  rigour  of  the  icy 
cold,  and  knew  that  it  had  won  one  victory  more  over 
sloth  and  weakness.  He  was  quite  accustomed  to  this 
terrific  regime  when  he  was  eight  years  old ! 

So  while  our  Japanese  boys  are  playing,  like  others, 
at  war,  they  know  more  of  its  hardships  than  one 
would  think  who  only  saw  them  with  green  swords 
in  the  mild  May  morning.  The  bath  has  preceded  the 
play,  and  in  the  bath  the  irises  too  have  their  service. 
It  is  still  credited  with  strength-giving  powers,  probably 
on  account  of  its  remarkable  vitality  and  the  varied 
character  of  its  growth  through  the  changing  seasons. 
Great  bunches  of  the  leaves  are  thrown  into  the  ocean 
of  hot  water  called  a  bath  in  Japan.  Thus  used,  the 
plant  was  supposed  to  inspire  the  spirit  of  patriotism 
and  valour.  Tradition  held  that  the  dew  was  an  in- 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  243 

dispensable  agent  in  developing  this  property  in  the 
herb,  which  was  therefore  employed  the  day  before 
the  festival  in  decorating  the  house-roof,  being  exposed 
there  all  night,  to  be  taken  down  in  the  morning 
for  the  bath,  in  which  the  eldest  son  was  the  first  to 
bathe. 

But  in  the  best  room  of  the  house,  the  honoured 
"  guest  apartment "  as  it  is  called,  there  are  many 
things  besides  flowers  set  out — warlike  figures,  and 
toy  weapons,  such  as  would  appeal  to  any.  boy's  heart, 
in  East  or  West.  But  here  the  figures  are  not  toys  — 
they  are  portraits ;  and  each  one  tells  its  tale  of  glory 
in  the  ears  of  the  Japanese  child.  These  models  of 
men,  clad  in  armour,  standing  in  attitudes  of  action 
or  menace  ;  the  horses,  richly  and  minutely  caparisoned, 
pawing  the  ground  as  if  impatient  for  battle,  —  they 
are  the  images  of  the  warriors  and  heroes  of  this 
strange  land,  accompanied  by  their  chargers,  whose 
names  have  also  been  handed  down  for  veneration. 
That  warrior  to  the  left  of  the  bronze  bowl  is  lye- 
yasu,  the  maker  of  Yedo,  the  general  whose  tomb  we 
have  seen  among  the  solemn  pines  of  Nikko,  the  man 
.^Hiom  the  Japanese  consider  the  greatest  ruler  the 
country  has  ever  obeyed.  Beside  him  is  that  famous 
charger,  who  outlived  him  for  thirty  years,  wandering 
free  among  the  sacred  groves.  His  tomb  also  we  have 
seen.  Yonder  is  the  figure  of  the  mythical  Raiko,  the 
Japanese  giant-killer,  who  delivered  Kyoto  from  a  fear- 
ful cannibal  demon ;  and  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  him 
is  the  effigy  of  another  hero,  Momotaro,  the  peach- 


244 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


born  boy,  who  accomplished   prodigies  of   strength,  and 
freed  his  country  from  a  stronghold  of  devils. 

Standing  up  among  the 
bows  and  arrows,  the  swords 
and  spears,  may  be  seen  the 
model  of  a  very  strange- 
looking  battle  standard,  or 
umajirushi.  The  head  of 
this  banner  is  composed  of 
a  number  of  small  gourds, 
golden  in  colour,  clustered 
round  a  larger  one,  and  all 
placed  on  a  rod.  Underneath 
the  gourds,  a  little  way 
down,  strips  of  bright  scarlet 
cloth  are  suspended  round 
the  stick.  No  one  looking 
at  the  pretty  toy  could  im- 
agine its  romantic  origin  or 
the  wonderful  part  it  has 
played  in  the  history  of 
Japan.  The  gourds  and  scar- 
let cloth  represent  the  umajirushi  of  Toyotomi  Hide- 
yoshi,  the  greatest  adventurer,  and  perhaps  the  greatest 
general,  in  Japanese  history.  He  was  born  of  poor 
parents  in  1536 ;  and  it  is  said  that  before  his  birth, 
which  was  marked  by  the  appearance  of  a  new  star, 
his  mother  dreamed  that  the  sun  was  within  her.  As  a 
child,  he  was  so  unmanageable  that  his  parents  placed 
him  with  bonzes  in  a  temple  to  be  trained  for  the 


A    TOY    STAMJAKD 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  245 

priesthood ;  but  he  soon  proved  too  wild  for  them  to 
manage,  and  was  dismissed.  The  same  thing  happened 
at  thirty-eight  places  in  succession,  Hideyoshi  finding 
no  master  who  would  suit  him,  although  he  seems  to 
have  tried  all  the  trades  in  turn,  from  a  crockery- 
maker,  to  whom  he  was  apprenticed,  to  a  robber  chief, 
in  whose  gang  he  served  for  a  time.  He  was  already 
distinguished  amongst  his  companions  by  his  courage 
and  dexterity  in  fencing,  by  his  constant  readiness  for 
a  fight,  and  by  his  ugliness,  which  gained  him  the 
name  of  Saru-no-suke,  or  monkey. 

Undaunted  by  misfortunes  that  would  have  crushed 
others,  he  at  last  determined  to  enter  the  service  of 
Oda  Nobunaga,  a  minor  baron,  who  had  gained  posses- 
sion of  the  provinces  of  Suruga,  Mino,  Omi,  Mikawa, 
Ichizen,  and  Ise.  Without  waiting  for  his  friends  to 
petition  for  an  audience  for  him,  or  for  the  ceremonious 
introductions  necessary  at  that  age  before  a  commoner 
could  approach  a  noble,  Hideyoshi  forced  his  way  into 
the  presence  of  Nobunaga  when  the  latter  was  resting 
in  his  tent  after  a  day's  hunting,  and  fearlessly  said 
that  he  had  come  to  enlist  himself  in  the  Baron's 
retinue,  and  that  he  had  chosen  Nobunaga  as  a  master 
worthy  of  his  services. 

Nobunaga,  impressed  by  the  young  man's  spirit  and 
I  MM  ring,  appointed  him  to  take  the  place  of  one  of  his 
foot  soldiers  of  the  lowest  rank  who  had  fallen  ill. 
Soon  after  this  event  he  was  called  upon  to  show  his 
strength  and  courage  in  single  combat  with  one  of  the 
other  retainers.  In  those  days  every  warrior  of  any 


246  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

renown  whatever  possessed  his  own  battle  sign,  and  by 
this  he  was  known.  Hideyoshi,  a  young  and  poor  ad- 
venturer, low  in  rank  withal,  could  not  obtain  one ; 
but  he  would  not  do  battle  without  a  banner  of  some 
kind  to  distinguish  him.  A  gourd  was  growing  by  the 
wayside;  he  tore  it  up  by  the  roots,  and  rushed  to 
the  contest,  flourishing  it  aloft.  His  opponent,  though 
an  experienced  warrior,  was  overcome;  Hideyoshi  won 
the  day,  and  with  it  great  renown,  rising  high  in  the 
estimation  of  his  lord,  who  loudly  praised  his  valour. 
Ever  after,  Hideyoshi  had  his  battle  standard  made  of 
gourds,  and  vowed  that  for  every  victory  he  won  he 
would  plant  one  of  these  vines.  Whether  he  was  able 
to  fulfil  the  ambition  he  then  formed,  th'at  of  number- 
ing a  thousand  such  trophies,  we  are  not  told;  but  his 
banner  is  still  known  as  Sen-nari-hisago,  or  the  one 
thousand  gourds. 

By  dint  of  hard  work,  indomitable  will,  and  brave 
righting  Hideyoshi  soon  became  the  most  capable  and 
trusted  retainer  in  Nobunaga's  Court,  and  on  the  assas- 
sination of  the  latter  subdued  the  whole  country,  and 
forced  the  other  Daimyos  to  own  him  as  their  lord. 
The  Mikado  installed  him  in  the  office  of  Kwambaku, 
or  Regent ;  and  by  his  wonderful  power  of  organisa- 
tion, and  the  instinct  which  led  him  to  choose  such 
men  as  lyeyasu  for  his  generals  and  administrators, 
comparative  peace  and  harmony  was  brought  to  reign 
in  the  country  in  place  of  the  strife  and  bloodshed  and 
revolt  of  the  last  two  hundred  years.  So  Hideyoshi 
rose  by  his  own  efforts  from  the  lowest  rank  of  the 


LETTERS   FKOM   JAPAN  L'I7 

people  to  be  the  ruler  of  his  country ;  and  the  effect  of 
his  work  lasted  for  more  than  two  centuries  after  him. 

Such  are  the  stories  of  brave  deeds  and  wonderful 
lives  told  to  the  boys  of  Japan,  when  on  May  5th 
their  gentle  little  mother  gathers  her  sons  together, 
and  takes  them  to  the  ozashiki  (honourable  drawing- 
room),  where  they  all  sit  round  her  on  the  matted 
floor,  and  gaze  reverently  at  the  array  of  emblematical 
toys,  standards,  and  weapons.  They  see  the  bright 
gourds,  and  know  the  meaning  of  the  strange  toy;  and 
with  deep-drawn  breath  they  answer  the  questions  put 
to  test  their  knowledge  in  the  leading  events  of  their 
history. 

Then  the  sliding-door  opens,  and  the  old  nurse, 
with  blackened  teeth  and  shaved  eyebrows,  carrying 
the  infant  son  on  her  back,  crawls  in.  The  okkasan 
(honourable  mother)  stops  in  her  talk,  and  turns  to 
welcome  the  newcomer,  whose  head  is  bent  and  patted 
into  a  bow  by  the  nurse,  as  she  makes  a  profound 
reverence  before  taking  her  place  behind  the  mistress. 
Some  more  stories  are  told,  and  then  the  mother  dis- 
misses her  children,  telling  them  that  if  they  wish  to 
please  their  "  honourable  father  "  they  must  follow  the 
example  of  such  men  as  the  heroes  before  them,  and 
to  do  this  they  must  be  brave  in  battle  and  persever- 
ing in  difficulties.  Thus  only  can  they  hope  to  repay 
the  many  blessings  they  owe  to  their  own  father  and 
to  the  "Father  of  the  Land,"  their  Emperor,  in  "this 
reign  of  enlightenment."  The  children  bring  their 
little  dark  heads  to  the  floor  in  low  obeisance  before 


248  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

their  mother.  Then  they  run  along  the  smooth  ve- 
randah till  they  come  to  the  block  of  stone  which 
serves  for  a  step  into  the  garden.  Sliding  off  the  veran- 
dah, they  slip  into  the  wooden  clogs  which  lie  wait- 
ing there,  and  go  perhaps  to  watch  the  sign  of  their 
existence  floating  from  its  pole  in  the  garden ;  or  to 
the  pond,  where,  in  answer  to  the  clapping  of  their 
hands,  the  favourite  carp  come  to  be  fed,  jumping  up 
from  amongst  the  yet  closely  furled  lotus  leaves,  and 
opening  and  shutting  their  mouths  in  appreciation  of 
the  food  thrown  to  them  by  their  little  masters.  At 
midday  a  maid  comes  to  the  edge  of  the  yengawa 
(verandah),  waves  her  hand  from  the  wrist  downwards 
out  of  the  large  falling  sleeve,  calling,  "  Waka  sama, 
waka  sama "  (Young  master,  young  master),  "  come, 
the  food  is  served ! "  And  they  run  in  merrily,  and 
more  quickly  than  usual,  in  anticipation  of  the  red  rice 
which  they  know  will  be  provided  to-day  in  honour  of 
the  feast,  instead  of  the  usual  plain  white  gohan.  As 
they  pass  their  mother's  room,  they  see  her  busily  lift- 
ing cakes  wrapped  in  leaves,  from  a  huge  plate  in 
which  they  are  piled,  into  square  lacquer  boxes.  These, 
daintily  tied  up  in  a  furoshiki  (the  cotton,  silk,  or 
crape  wrapper  in  which  presents  are  always  sent  — 
the  crest  of  the  family  is  stamped  on  the  furoshiki 
used  on  ceremonious  occasions),  are  to  be  sent  to  dif- 
ferent friends  with  congratulatory  greetings.  In  a  few 
minutes,  having  given  directions  about  the  different 
boxes,  she  comes  into  the  children's  room  with  a  plate 
of  the  same  cakes,  okashiwa,  made  especially  for  this 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  249 

festival,  and,  sitting  down  on  the  floor,  serves  out  with 
ohasJd  (chopsticks)  an  equal  number  on  each  child's  tray. 

A  small  lacquer  table,  called  an  osambo,  is  set 
before  the  suits  of  armour  and  the  models  of  warriors ; 
on  it  is  placed  a  little  offering  of  the  ceremonial  food 
of  the  day ;  namely,  a  dish  of  the  okashiiva,  sweet- 
meats, and  the  usual  blue-and-white  porcelain  bottle 
filled  with  sake,  in  which  petals  of  the  iris  have  been 
scattered. 

The  Tango,  or  Boys'  Festival,  has  always  been  the 
occasion  for  giving  boys  some  part  of  their  martial 
accoutrements;  and  so  when  the  ottottsama  (lit.  hon- 
ourable father  Mr.)  comes  home,  there  may  be  a  crown- 
ing pleasure  to  this  day  of  happiness  in  store  for  them 
in  the  shape  of  a  gift  of  arms.  Although  the  ancient 
picturesque  armour  is  now  laid  aside  for  the  modern 
soldier's  uniform,  the  sword  and  bow  still  hold  their 
own  in  the  fencing  and  archery  schools,  which  preserve 
the  remembrance  of  some  of  the  old  methods  of  warfare 
threatened  with  oblivion  and  disuse  by  the  march  of 
civilisation.  It  may  often  only  be  a  toy  rapier  or  gun 
which  the  little  musuko  receives;  but  it  sends  him, 
happy  as  a  king,  to  marshal  out  his  playmates  in 
mock  battle,  or  to  strut  in  their'  ranks  with  the  seri- 
ousness of  reality. 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  this  gala  day  is  often 
repeated  to  the  children ;  and  I  will  give  it  to  you  as 
it  is  generally  told  here. 

The  festival  is  said  to  have  been  instituted  in  com- 
memoration of  the  repulse  of  the  Mongolian  invasion  of 


250 


LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 


Japan,  A.D.  1281,  an  event  which  seems  still  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  a  favourite  subject  for 
paintings  and  carvings.  From  1274  to  1281  Japan 
was  greatly  troubled  by  expeditions  sent  against  her 
by  Kublai  Khan,  the  friend  and  patron  of  Marco  Polo. 
Fired  by  the  description  of  the  riches  and  beauty  of 


KUBLAI     KHAN 

From  a  very  ancient  Chinee  painting 


the  Eastern  islands,  which  in  Chinese  legends  had  al- 
ways figured  as  a  kind  of  earthly  Paradise,  the  great 
Mongol  ruler  fancied  that  Japan  was  politically  weak, 
and  would  at  once  submit  to  his  own  overwhelming 
power.  During  this  period,  though  the  Minamoto  Sho- 
guns  were  the  nominal  rulers  of  the  country  (the  Mikado 
was,  as  we  have  seen  before,  kept  in  helpless  seclusion), 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  251 

the  Hojos,  their  retainers,  held  the  military  Regency 
under  them;  all  real  power  was  in  their  hands,  after  the 
murder  of  Sanetomo  Minamoto  in  Kamakura.  In  pursu- 
ance of  his  idea  of  annexation,  Kublai  Khan  sent  one 
embassy  after  another  to  demand  submission  from  Japan. 
The  first  embassy  was  dismissed  with  indignity ;  an  expe- 
dition followed,  which  took  possession  of  an  island  belong- 
ing to  Japan ;  then  new  envoys  were  sent,  but  they  were 
promptly  beheaded  on  the  beach  of  Kamakura  by  Hojo 
Tokumine  in  1275.  Determining  to  give  Japan  a  sig- 
nal punishment  for  her  defiance,  the  Mongol  chief  col- 
lected a  hundred  thousand  Chinese,  Mongolians,  and 
Coreans,  and  despatched  this  mighty  army  to  Japan  in 
1281.  The  Japanese,  invoking  the  aid  of  the  gods,  met 
the  swarm  of  invaders  off  the  coast  of  Kiushiu.  Several 
engagements  were  fought,  and  at  last,  as  if  in  answer 
to  their  prayers,  a  mighty  storm  arose,  the  enemy's 
fleet  was  scattered,  and  the  Japanese,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity,  made  a  desperate  and  vigorous 
onslaught  on  the  intruders  and  completely  annihilated 
them.  It  is  recorded  that  only  three  escaped  to  tell 
the  tale. 

Since  this  memorable  repulse  of  the  Mongolian  in- 
vaders, no  foreign  enemy  has  ever  attacked  Japan ;  she 
regards  herself  as  invincible ;  and  the  Japanese,  looking 
upon  the  delivering  storm  as  a  miraculous  intervention 
on  the  part  of  the  gods  to  save  their  country,  instituted 
the  Tango  to  be  a  lasting  memorial  of  thanksgiving  and 
of  the  wonderful  victory  gained  by  the  "land  of  the 
gods  "  over  the  barbarians. 


252  LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN 

By  telling  these  stories  to  their  children,  the  Japan- 
ese believe  that  they  sow  the  seeds  of  reverence  and 
admiration  for  the  best  and  noblest  examples  of  their 
ancestors,  the  seeds  of  self-reliance  and  belief  in  the 
invincible  power  of  their  country ;  and  though  to  us, 
perhaps,  the  courage  seems  exaggerated  and  the  ideals 
unattainable,  yet  I  think  it  bears  no  mean  fruit  in  the 
Japan  of  to-day.  Loyalty  and  courage  are  the  un- 
doubted inheritance  of  the  nation. 

And  so  for  the  little  boys  of  Japan  the  brightly 
coloured  banner  and  the  gay  toy  warriors  have  a  real 
and  moral  significance.  The  children's  hearts  are  stim- 
ulated, unconsciously  at  the  time,  no  doubt,  and  their 
ambition  roused  to  become  worthy  compatriots  of  the 
brave  men  gone  before  them.  I  think  the  hour  will 
come  again,  as  it  has  in  time  past,  when  these  things 
will  be  of  use  to  them,  whether  in  the  war  with  evil 
for  good  in  their  own  hearts,  or  on  the  battlefield  face 
to  face  with  the  foe. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

THE      ATTACK     ON     THE     CESAREVITCH. — LOYAL     WOMEN. 

TSUDA    SANZO    AND    HIS    LIFE    HISTORY. A    NATION     IN 

MOURNING. —  COURAGEOUS  JUDGES.  —  A    SAMURAI  MAIDEN 

TOKYO,  June,  1891. 

rTIHE  most  terrible  blow  fell  on  this  unfortunate 
-*•  country  on  May  llth;  and  now,  weeks  afterwards, 
it  is  still  impossible  to  think  or  speak  of  anything  else. 
The  Cesarevitch,  whose  coming  was  so  eagerly  antici- 
pated, for  whose  entertainment  every  resource  of  the 
empire  was  to  be  called  upon,  whom  the  Emperor 
intended  to  honour  as  no  foreign  Prince  has  ever  been 
honoured  before  —  the  Cesarevitch  was  attacked,  deeply 
wounded,  all  but  killed,  by  one  of  the  policemen  set  to 
guard  his  way. 

No  words  of  mine  can  describe  the  consternation 
and  dismay  which  took  possession  of  this  place,  when 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  llth  those  horrible  telegrams 
came  pouring  in,  to  the  Russian  Legation,  to  the 
Mini-tries,  to  the  Palace.  It  was  a  lovely  afternoon, 
and  I  was  returning  from  a  drive,  when  I  met,  not  far 

from   home,  my  friend   Mrs.  K .     She   stopped   her 

carriage,  and   got   into   mine,  telling   the    coachman  to 
drive  to  the  Russian  Legation,  and  on  the  way  she  told 

253 


254  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

me  what  she  had  just  learnt  from  one  of  the  officials. 
The  Cesarevitch  had  been  attacked;  no  one  knew  yet 
whether  the  wound  was  mortal.  We  were  met  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Russian  Legation  by  scared-looking 
servants,  who  led  us  up  the  big  staircase  where  all  the 
beautiful  floral  decorations  had  just  been  completed  in 
expectation  of  the  Prince's  visit  to-morrow.  The  fear 
of  death  seemed  to  be  <5n  every  one,  and  the  very  gloom 
of  it  to  hang  over  the  great  flower-filled  house.  What 

made    it    more    terrible    for    Madame    S and    her 

daughter  was  that  they  were  alone  there,  the  Minister 
himself  being  in  attendance  on  the  Cesarevitch.  As  yet 
no  one  knew  whether  a  riot  had  taken  place,  whether 

Monsieur  S were  also  hurt  or  not ;   but  to  tell  the 

truth,  I  do  not  believe  the  two  poor  loyal  women  could 
have  then  suffered  more  anguish  of  soul  if  he  had  even 
been  killed.  I  learnt  for  the  first  time  what  loyalty 
meant ;  with  what  a  passion  of  devotion  the  blood  of 
some  races  leaps  to  the  call,  mad  to  be  spilt  for  the 
sovereign  and  his  family.  My  poor  friends  were 
utterly  prostrated  by  the  blow,  which  had  fallen  some 
two  hours  before,  while  I  was  far  out  in  the  country. 
They  had  wept  till  they  could  weep  no  more,  and  Vera 

S ,  a  most  charming  and  brilliant   girl,  was   raging 

up  and  down  the  room,  wild  to  slay  the  doer  of  the 
deed,  who,  I  think,  would  indeed  have  had  a  short 
shrift  if  her  little  fingers  had  once  met  on  his  throat. 
"  Our  Prince,  our  Prince !  "  she  sobbed ;  and  there  were 
no  other  words  but  those.  "  Our  Prince,  our  Prince ! 
God  have  mercy  on  our  Prince ! "  I  am  certain  that 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  255 

at  that  moment  both  mother  and  daughter  would  have 
gone  to  death  joyfully  and  unhesitatingly,  if  by  so  doing 
they  could  have  assured  the  Cesarevitch's  life.  The 
Russian  Bishop  was  there,  doing  what  he  could  to 
comfort  them ;  and  telegram  after  telegram  was  brought 
and  read  to  us  by  the  Secretary,  who  himself  looked  as 
if  he  had  heard  his  death-warrant.  "  Two  deep  wounds 
on  the  head ;  recovery  impossible,"  the  first  message  had 
run  ;  then,  "  Prince  better ;  most  courageous,"  "  Return- 
ing to  Kyoto  at  once,"  "Great  loss  of  blood  —  I  am 

safe  "  (this  had   been  added  at  last  by  Monsieur  S 

to  reassure  his  family  a  little) ;  I  do  not  think  he  himself 
cared  two  pins  whether  he  was  safe  or  not,  and  he  very 
nearly  killed  himself  by  running  for  three-quarters  of 
an  hour  to  the  Otsu  Station,  holding  one  side  of  the 
Prince's  jinriksha,  while  General  Bariatinsky,  his  Gov- 
ernor, ran  on  the  other  to  defend  him  from  any  further 
possible  attack. 

How  it  all  happened  is  a  strange  tale.  The  Cesare- 
vitch  came  over  from  China  on  April  27th,  attended 
by  a  squadron  of  Russian  war-ships,  to  begin  a  tour 
through  Japan  which  was  to  occupy  a  month,  and  dur- 
ing which  he  was  to  be  shown  everything  which  could 
possibly  interest  or  amuse  him.  The  visit  had  been 
under  discussion  for  many  months,  and  was  intended  to 
cement  the  bonds  of  friendship  already  existing  between 
the  two  countries.  We  had  heard  of  the  many  negotia- 
tions on  the  subject,  and  the  coming  of  the  Cesarevitch 
\\as  to  be  the  event  of  the  year  in  Tokyo.  When  all 
the  arrangements  were  completed,  Monsieur  S still 


256  LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN 

felt  uneasy  about  the  safety  of  the  heir-apparent.  The 
Czar  was  allowing  him  to  come  on  the  Minister's  repre- 
sentation that  no  danger  whatever  could  possibly  assail 
him  on  Japanese  soil ;  but  the  Minister  himself  (I  remem- 
ber his  telling  me  of  it)  was  not  absolutely  satisfied  with 
the  arrangements  made,  and  finally  told  the  Emperor  of 
Japan  that  he  did  not  consider  the  guarantees  sufficient. 
Then  the  Emperor  made  an  answer  at  which  some  of 
his  own  people  were  almost  indignant.  "  I  take,"  said 
his  Majesty,  "the  personal  responsibility  of  the  Cesare- 
vitch's  visit.  His  person  shall  be  sacred  as  my  own ; 
I  answer  for  his  safety  with  my  own  honour." 

After  that  there  could  be  no  more  hesitation,  and 
the  Cesarevitch  came,  accompanied  by  his  cousin  Prince 
George  of  Greece,  and  by  a  numerous  train,  including 
a  number  of  Russian  officers.  Prince  Arisugawa  was 
deputed  to  meet  him,  and  the  people  were  honestly 
and  truly  glad  to  see  him.  The  Emperor's  guest 
was  received  with  the  most  hearty  enthusiasm,  when 
he  landed  in  Nagasaki  from  the  Pamiat  Azova,  the 
war-ship  devoted  to  his  especial  service.  The  road 
from  the  quay  to  the  Governor's  house  where  the 
Cesarevitch  lunched  was  lined  with  crowds  for  the 
mile  and  a  half  of  its  length  —  crowds  who  received 
their  Emperor's  guest  with  every  mark  of  welcome. 
From  Nagasaki  he  went  to  Kagoshima,  where  he  and 
Prince  George  and  the  whole  party  were  the  guests 
of  Prince  Shimadzu  for  several  days.  There  some 
splendid  shows  were  organised,  all  the  sports  of  the 
old  feudal  Court  were  revived  in  a  kind  of  tournament, 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


257 


KYOTO 

From  a  water-colour  drawing  by  John   Varley,  R.A. 

and  the  Russian  Minister  told  me  afterwards  that  the 
display  of  antique  armour  and  weapons  had  been 
quite  wonderful.  Presents  of  great  value  were  offered 
to  the  Prince  and  his  companions,  and  he  is  said  to 
have  much  enjoyed  all  the  novelty  of  the  entertain- 
ments provided.  From  Kagoshima  he  came  up  to 
Kobe,  where  he  landed  and  took  train  for  Kyoto. 
He  was  attended  by  several  great  Japanese  officials, 
among  others  dear  Mr.  Sannomiya,  whom  we  always 
call  the  guardian  angel  of  the  foreigners  here.  While 
the  Cesarevitch  was  visiting  Kyoto,  Mr.  Sannomiya 
came  up  to  Tokyo  to  see  that  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  his  reception  here  by  the  Emperor;  and 
it  was  during  his  absence  that  the  blow  fell.  I  shall 
never  forget  his  face,  when  he  came  down  to  the 


258  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

Russian  Legation  that  evening,  just  before  the  special 
train  started  carrying  most  of  the  Princes  and  all  the 
Ministers  down  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster. 

Of  course,  we  sat  there  speculating  wildly  on  the 
motive  of  the  horrid  crime,  and  longing  to  hear  more 
of  the  details,  for  it  was  as  yet  impossible  to  gather 
from  the  excited  telegrams  anything  but  the  merest 
outline  of  the  facts.  But  more  accurate  news  came 
on  later  in  the  evening,  and  by  midnight  we  knew 
pretty  well  all  that  there  was  to  be  known,  and  could 
also  estimate  the  gravity  of  the  misfortune.  The  poor 
young  Prince  suffered  a  great  shock,  with  after-pain, 
fever,  and  weakness.  But  Japan  seemed  to  have  been 
suddenly  arrested  in  her  march  to  the  vanguard  of 
nations,  to  have  been  thrown  back  fifty  years  in  her 
history  of  civilisation,  to  have  fallen  into  a  great  abyss 
of  bitter  and  humiliating  trouble. 

And  yet  it  was  such  a  simple  story!  Had  it 
happened  in  Europe,  it  would  have  been  looked  upon 
as  a  great  misfortune,  but  no  more.  No  deductions 
would  have  been  drawn  from  it ;  no  enemies  could 
have  brandished  its  record  in  the  stricken  face  of  the 
nation  to  show  that  no  civilized  peoples  should  have 
friendship  with  her,  that  treaties  were  an  absurdity, 
equality  a  dream.  All  that  happened  to  poor  Japan, 
smarting  under  the  wound,  to  her  the  most  bitter  of 
all  —  a  wound  to  her  honour.  The  Emperor's  welcome 
guest  had  been  betrayed. 

He  had  gone  from  Kyoto  to  see  Lake  Biwa,  the 
Lake  of  the  Lute,  whose  waters  are  called  the  melted 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  259 

snows  of  Fuji.  The  party  had  lunched  with  the  Prefect 
of  the  District  at  a  little  place  named  Otsu,  the  usual 
centre  for  some  lovely  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  lake.  As  the  roads  do  not  allow  of  using  carriages 
in  that  part  of  the  world,  the  Prince  and  his  following 
were  in  jinrikshas,  each  drawn  by  two  coolies.  The 
Cesarevitch  was  in  the  fifth  of  these  little  vehicles, 
those  in  front  being  occupied  by  the  Governor  of  the 
Province,  the  Chief  of  Police,  and  two  inspectors. 
Behind  the  Cesarevitch  came  another  Japanese  official, 
then  Prince  George,  then  one  or  two  other  members 

of   the   party,  and  finally  Monsieur  S ,  the   Russian 

Minister.  The  streets  were  lined  with  police  on  both 
sides,  the  men  being  set  at  short  intervals  from  each 
other,  all  picked  men  who  could  be  relied  on  to  do 
their  duty.  But  no  one  dreamed  that  their  services 
would  be  really  needed.  It  is  the  boast  of  new  Japan 
that  the  foreigner  can  travel  from  end  to  end  of  the 
empire  without  ever  receiving  the  slightest  molestation ; 
and  this  foreigner  was  the  beloved  Emperor's  guest! 

Among  the  policemen  stood  one  called  Tsuda  Sanzo, 
an  old  sergeant-major  in  the  army,  where  he  had 
earned  a  decoration  for  services  rendered  in  the  Satsuma 
rebellion.  A  self-centred  and  somewhat  bigoted  man, 
he  was  yet  one  of  the  quiet,  steady,  tried  servants 
who  would  be  chosen  for  such  a  post  as  this.  As  the 
Cesarevitch  passed  him,  he  drew  his  great  Japanese 
blade,  and  aimed  a  deadly  blow  at  the  Prince's  head. 
The  jinriksha  was  going  at  a  fair  pace,  and  the  sword 
slid,  caught  the  hat,  and  inflicted  a  second  blow. 


260 

Then  it  fell  as  Tsuda  himself  fell ;  for  one  of  the 
coolies,  dropping  the  shafts,  hurled  himself  unarmed 
on  the  policeman,  and  the  second  coolie  snatched  the 
sword  and  dealt  the  assassin  two  serious  blows  with 
it  while  he  was  still  wrestling  with  the  first  man.  The 
Prince  himself,  blinded  with  the  flow  of  blood,  leapt 
from  the  jinriksha  as  the  shafts  dropped,  and  ran 
forward  towards  the  oi/es  occupied  by  the  Governor  and 
the  other  Japanese  officials.  In  an  instant  the  Governor 
was  supporting  him,  and  led  him  aside  into  an  open 
shop,  while  the  whole  train  was  thrown  into  the  wildest 
confusion.  Guards  threw  themselves  on  Tsuda  and 
secured  him,  and  Prince  George,  in  intense  anger  and 
excitement,  came  and  struck  him  violently  with  his 

stick.     Monsieur  S jumped  from  his  jinriksha,  and 

flew  past  the  rest  to  where  the  Prince  was  standing 
in  the  little  shop.  He  was  bathed  in  blood,  but  refused 

to    sit   down ;    and   when    Monsieur   S in  his  wild 

anxiety  threw  himself  at  his  feet  with  a  cry,  the  Prince 
raised  him  quietly  and  said,  "Do  not  be  anxious.  Ce 
nest  que  du  sang.  I  am  not  really  hurt ! " 

He  was  very  much  hurt,  poor  young  fellow ;  but 
not  dangerously  so,  as  in  the  terror  of  the  moment 
somebody  wired  that  he  was.  They  bound  up  the 
long  cuts  on  his  head,  thanking  Heaven  that  the  hard 
hat  and  the  thick  hair  had  helped  to  turn  the  blow ; 

and  then  they  got  him   back  to  Otsu,  Monsieur  S 

running  by  the  jinriksha,  and  holding  it  on  one  side, 
while  General  Bariatinsky  did  the  same  on  the  other. 
A  special  train  brought  him  back  to  Kyoto,  where,  in 


LETTERS  FROM  JAP  AX  261 

spite  of  his  calm  cheerful  manner,  he  was  only  too 
glad  to  lie  down  at  last  and  have  his  wounds  properly 
dressed. 

And  Tsuda?  Of  course  after  the  event  there  were 
plenty  of  people  who  were  sure  that  the  man  was  insane, 
that  he  should  never  have  been  chosen  for  the  service 
which  brought  him  into  such  close  contact  with  the 
heir  of  the  Czar.  It  transpired  that  there  had  been 
insanity  in  his  family,  that  one  or  two  of  his  intimates 
had  heard  him  speak  with  fear  of  the  aggressions  of 
Russia,  just  as  a  certain  small  class  here  write  and 
speak.  Their  minority  makes  them  insignificant;  and 
nobody  has  done  more  than  laugh  when  these  wiseacres 
pretended  to  see  the  visit  of  a  spy  in  the  coming  of 
the  Cesarevitch :  when,  in  obscure  newspapers,  they  re- 
minded the  people  of  the  Russian  principles  of  aggres- 
sion; as  shown  by  Russia's  taking  Saghalien,  which 
was.  after  all,  deliberately  exchanged  for  the  Kurile 
Islands.  Japan  is  rich  in  fanatics.  One  of  the  men 
who  held  these  doctrines  committed  suicide  before  the 
landing  of  the  Prince,  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  be  spared 
the  sight  of  his  country's  humiliation.  A  legend  exists 
he  effect  that  the  late  General  Saigo,  the  chief 
leader  of  the  Satsuma  rebellion,  was  not  really  killed, 
but  had  succeeded  in  escaping  to  Russia,  where  he  is 
supposed  to  have  remained  all  these  years,  awaiting 
a  favourable  moment  in  order  to  return  to  Japan  and 
once  more  raise  the  standard  of  revolt.  A  story  got 
abroad  that  the  Cesarevitch  was  bringing  him  back  in 
his  suite,  and  the  absurd  rumour  caused  a  good  deal  of 


262  LETTEKS  FKOM  JAPAN 

excitement  in  some  districts.  Such  ideas  had  probably 
preyed  on  Tsuda's  mind,  apt  to  be  unhinged  because 
of  that  strain  of  madness  in  his  family  which  was 
quite  unknown  to  the  authorities ;  and  when  he  was 
named  as  one  of  the  guardians  of  the  road  for  the 
Russian  Prince,  the  insane  resolve  to  make  away  with 
him  probably  formed  itself  in  his  brain.  The  instant 
onslaught  of  the  two  jinriksha  coolies  prevented  him 
from  taking  his  own  life,  which  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  his  next  act. 

But  he  has  brought  profound  sorrow  on  the  whole 
empire.  So  much  was  expected  and  hoped  from  this 
visit,  in  the  way  of  friendship  with  the  great  European 
Powers.  It  was  to  have  been  in  a  way  Japan's  first  step 
in  the  Social  Polity  of  the  world ;  and  one  cannot  but 
feel  the  most  profound  sympathy  with  her  in  her  distress. 

Two  hours  after  the  first  news  of  the  attempt  reached 
Tokyo,  a  Cabinet  Council  had  been  held,  and  a  special 
train  was  starting  for  Kyoto,  carrying  Prince  Kitashira- 
kawa,  with  the  Emperor's  own  surgeon,  Dr.  Hashimoto, 
and  various  officials  to  the  spot.  An  hour  or  two 
afterwards  another  train  went  down  with  some  of  the 
Ministers,  more  of  the  Court  people,  and  all  the  dis- 
tinguished medical  men  of  the  capital ;  and  early  the 
next  morning,  amid  an  outburst  of  public  grief  and 
indignation,  the  Emperor  himself,  with  all  his  staff, 
started  for  Kyoto.  But  before  he  left,  an  Imperial 
Rescript  appeared,  which  told  the  nation  of  what  had 
occurred,  and  of  the  intense  pain  caused  in  the  Emperor's 
breast  by  the  horrible  deed.  Here  is  the  Rescript : 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  263 

"  It  is  with  the  most  profound  grief  and  regret 
that,  while  We,  with  Our  Government  and  Our  subjects, 
have  been  preparing  to  welcome  his  Imperial  Highness, 
Our  beloved  and  respected  Crown  Prince  of  Russia,  with 
all  the  honours  and  hospitalities  due  to  Our  national 
guest,  We  receive  the  most  unexpected  and  surprising 
announcement  that  his  Imperial  Highness  met  with  a 
deplorable  accident  at  Otsu  whilst  on  his  journey.  It 
is  Our  will  that  justice  shall  take  its  speedy  course  on 
the  miscreant  offender,  to  the  end  that  Our  mind  may 
be  relieved,  and  that  Our  friendly  and  intimate  rela- 
tions with  Our  good  neighbour  may  be  secured  against 
disturbance." 

The  Ministers  paid  a  visit  to  the  Russian  Legation 
before  they  left  for  Kyoto  —  a  visit  in  which  it  was 
intended  at  any  rate  to  convey  the  expression  of  the 
profound  regret  of  the  Government  to  the  wife  of  the 
Russian  Representative.  It  was  a  most  distressing 
ordeal  for  everybody,  the  officials  finding  absolutely  no 
words  sufficient  to  convey  their  dismay  and  sorrow ; 

while  Madame  S ,  who  is  always  a  delightfully 

impetuous  and  impulsive  person,  and  who  was  just 
then  in  a  frenzy  of  loyal  indignation,  seems  to  have 
found  no  difficulty  at  all  in  expressing  her  feelings. 

Meanwhile  there.,  was  one  person  who  could  do 
nothing  to  help  the  poor  young  Prince  or  to  punish 
his  assailant ;  the  valiant  gentle  Empress  forgot  all 
the  repressions  of  her  up-bringing,  all  the  superb  calm 
which  as  a  part  of  her  rank  she  has  shown  in  every 
circumstance  of  her  life,  and  for  the  whole  of  that 


264  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

wretched  night  walked  up  and  down,  up  and  down, 
weeping  her  heart  out  in  a  flood-tide  of  grief.  Those 
who  told  rne  of  it  said  that  all  night  long  and  for  days 
after  the  Empress  had  but  one  cry ;  not  a  cry  of  despair 
for  her  country,  humiliated  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
world,  condemned  perhaps  to  find  bitter  enemies  where 
she  had  looked  for  ^friends  —  all  that  seems  not  to  have 
touched  her  at  all  at  first ;  her  only  thought  was  for 
the  boy  —  and  his  mother.  "  The  poor  mother,  the 
poor  mother !  "  she  wailed.  "  She  cannot  see  her  boy  ! 
She  will  not  believe  he  is  safe !  Poor  mother !  How 
can  I  comfort  you  ?  " 

That  was  all.  And  she  who  is  supposed  never 
to  change  expression  or  show  the  smallest  weakness 
before  others  walked  up  and  down  her  lovely  rooms 
like  a  caged  creature,  with  the  tears  raining  down  her 
face.  Her  ladies  were  terrified  and  overcome ;  they 
thought  she  could  not  live  through  such  a  storm  of 
grief.  Message  after  message  was  sent  to  the  Czarina, 
assuring  her  of  the  profound  heart-broken  sympathy 
with  which  the  Empress  regarded  her  trouble,  and 
promising  that  the  Cesarevitch  should  be  nursed  and 
tended  as  if  his  mother  were  with  him.  As  soon  as 
she  recovered  from  the  shock  sufficiently  to  travel,  she 
went  to  see  the  wounded  boy,  who  was  deeply  touched 
by  her  sorrow  and  her  kindness. 

He  behaved  all  through  like  a  Prince  and  a  gentle- 
man. Not  the  slightest  sign  of  rancour  ever  appeared 
in  his  voice  or  manner ;  and  when,  at  his  parents'  com- 
mand (it  is  said,  at  his  mother's  entreaty),  he  gave  up 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  265 

the  rest  of  his  Japanese  tour,  and  was  carried  back 
on  board  his  own  ship  to  be  nursed,  he  softened  the 
act  by  every  kind  word  that  could  possibly  have  been 
used,  thanking  the  Emperor  warmly  for  all  his  kind- 
ness and  saying  how  great  a  deprivation  it  was  to 
him  not  to  visit  the  Emperor  in  Tokyo ;  because  "  for 
reasons  of  health,  as  he  was  still  somewhat  weak,  it 
was  considered  wiser  that  he  should  return  to  Russia  at 
once." 

Mr.  Sannomiya  told  me  that  the  meeting  between 
the  Emperor  and  his  guest  was  affecting  in  the  extreme. 
As  for  poor  Princess  Komatsu,  who  went  to  visit  him, 
she  utterly  broke  down  wrhen  she  saw  the  poor  boy, 
deathly  pale  from  loss  of  blood,  his  head  enveloped  in 
bandages,  and  yet  smiling  at  her  kindly  as  she  entered 
the  room.  The  lady-in-waiting  thought  the  Princess 
would  faint;  but  she  pulled  herself  together,  and  only 
cried  quietly.  Indeed,  though  perhaps  it  sounds  heart- 
less to  say  so,  I  should  think  the  Cesarevitch  (who  has 
had  a  good  deal  of  fever)  would  have  got  over  his  acci- 
dent more  quickly  with  fewer  visits  and  less  excitement. 
However,  sympathy  is  a  great  thing;  and  this  atrocious 
attempt  has  called  forth  such  overwhelming  expressions 
of  national  sorrow  and  sympathy  that  the  Prince  can 
never  forget  it  as  long  as  he  lives.  And  as  for  the 
Emperor,  I  doubt  if  even  he  knew  what  his  people  felt 
for  him  until  it  was  announced  that  the  Emperor 
mourned  —  was  in  sorrow  for  his  subject's  sin  —  and 
the  whole  of  the  population  in  all  its  millions  left  its 
work  and  its  pleasures,  deserted  the  farm,  closed  the 


266 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


shop,   turned   from  all  its   recreations    and   amusements 
—  to  sorrow  with  him. 

I  have  never  seen  anything  like  it,  —  and  you  see 
I  am  learning  lessons  -in  loyalty !  The  theatres  were 
closed,  the  shops  and  markets  abandoned ;  everywhere 
people  spoke  in  groups  and  with  profound  sadness  in 

their  tones.  The  little 
daughter  of  Viscount  Aoki, 
the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  (she  is  ten  years 
old),  heard  the  announce- 
ment of  the  outrage  with  a 
stony  face,  and  went  away 
in  silence  to  her  room. 
There,  for  hours,  she  lay  on 
the  floor  in  an  agony  of 
grief  and  shame,  moaning, 
"  /  am  a  Japanese  !  /  must 
live  with  this  shame !  I 
cannot  —  I  cannot !  I  can- 
not bear  it ! "  At  the 
Nobles'  Club  there  was  one  opinion  only  —  how  could 
those  at  the  head  of  affairs,  those  who  were  respon- 
sible for  the  Prince's  safety  in  his  journey,  support  life 
any  longer?  Why  had  they  not  already  wiped  out  their 
dishonour  with  death  ?  There  was  -only  one  thing  for 
a  gentleman  to  do  in  such  circumstances  —  commit  hara- 
kiri  or  some  other  decorous  kind  of  suicide! 

Among  the  people  the  sorrow  took  two  forms :  one, 
the  intense  desire  to  make  reparation  to  the  illustrious 


THE    DAUGHTER    OF    VISCOUNT    AOKI 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  267 

guest  and  his  family  for  the  insult  and  outrage  which 
he  had  suffered;  the  other  going  deeper  still,  the  yearn- 
ing—  no  other  word  quite  expresses  it  —  to  lift  some 
of  the  load  of  sorrow  from  the  Emperor's  heart,  to  do 
something  by  which  the  "  august "  would  cease  to  mourn. 
"  Tenshi  Sama  Go  Shimpai "  was  the  word  in  every 
mouth  —  "  Great  Augustness,  worshipped  Sorrow  ;  " 
and  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  strong  men  and 
little  children,  all  did  what  they  could,  gave  more  than 
they  could,  to  undo  the  wrong. 

People  who  were  on  board  the  Cesarevitch's  ship 
told  me  that  it  seemed  like  to  sink  with  gifts ;  the 
decks,  the  saloons,  the  passages,  were  encumbered,  and 
still  they  came  and  came  and  came !  The  universality 
and  spontaneousness  of  the  manifestation  gave  it  an 
overwhelming  value,  which  the  Prince  here  and  his 
parents  at  home  were  quick  to  appreciate.  Rich  people 
gave  out  of  their  riches,  and  objects  of  unexampled 
beauty  and  rarity  were  brought  out  from  the  treasure- 
houses  and  sent  with  messages  of  love  and  respect  to 
the  boy  who  lay  healing  of  his  wound  in  Kobe  Harbour. 
The  poor  sent  the  most  touching  gifts  —  the  rice  and 
shoyu,  the  fish  and  barley-flour,  which  would  have  fed 
the  little  family  for  a  year;  poor  old  peasants  walked 
for  days  so  as  to  bring  a  tiny  offering  of  eggs.  The 
merchants  sent  silks  and  porcelain,  lacquer  and  bronze, 
crapes  and  ivory,  according  to  their  merchandise ;  tele- 
grams poured  in,  expressing  intense  sympathy,  and 
more  intense  indignation  at  the  outrage.  In  the  first 
twenty-four  hours  after  the  occurrence,  so  many  thou- 


268  LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 

sands  of  these  were  sent  that  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  deliver  them ;  twenty  thousand  persons  called  during 

the  first  two  days 
at  the  hotel  in 
Kyoto  where  the 
Prince  lay  before 
he  was  removed  to 
his  vessel ;  every 
corporation  and 
community,  town 
and  village  and 
guild  sent  either  a 
deputation  to  carry 
its  condolences  or 
a  letter  to  express 
them ;  and  many 

A    BRONZE    INCENSE-BURNER 

who  could  ill  afford 

the  outlay  telegraphed  messages  of  sympathy  to  the 
Czar  and  Czarina  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  always  added 
a  protest  of  horror  at  the  wicked  deed. 

The  perpetrator  of  it  is  not  yet  judged,  and  some 
care  has  been  necessary  to  keep  him  from  being  torn 
to  pieces  by  his  indignant  countrymen,  who  "  are  ready 
to  eat  him,"  as  the  saying  is  here.  The  newspapers 
vie  with  one  another  in  condemning  the  criminal,  who, 
after  all,  seems  to  have  been  a  common  madman,  all 
the  more  dangerous  from  having  earned  the  confidence 
of  his  superiors. 

Rather  an  amusing  story  is  told  here. 

The   Emperor,    it   seems,   sent   word   to    the    judges 


LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 


269 


that  the  wretched  Tsuda  must  be  executed  at  once ; 
the  judges  replied,  "  Your  Imperial  Majesty  may  re- 
member that  you  have  graciously  granted  a  Constitu- 
tion, in  which  it  is  promised  that  criminals  shall  only 
be  judged  and  condemned  according  to  the  laws  which 
have  now  been  promulgated ;  in  those  laws  such  a  case 
as  this  was  not  foreseen,  and  therefore  we  can  only 
award  to  this  man  the  punishment  incurred  by  one  who 
assaults  and  wounds  any  other  person  of  any  class  what- 
ever. We  regret  that  we  cannot  carry  out  your  Im- 
perial Majesty's  wishes.  Tsuda  Sanzo  will  undergo  a 
term  of  imprisonment." 

"  Tsuda    Sanzo    will    be    executed,"    the    indignant 
Emperor  replied.     "  Let  it  be  seen  to  at  once." 

"Then,"  said  the  courageous  judges,  "your  Imperial 
Majesty  will  dispense  with  our  poor  services,  and  find 
some  one  to 
carry  out  your 
august  com-  ^  i 

mands  who  has 
not  taken  the 
oath  to  admin- 
ister the  laws 
according  to  the 
Constitution." 

But  the  Em- 
peror   was    too 
upright   not   to 
see  that  they  were  in  the  right,  and  it  is  said  that  he 
was  pleased  with  their  justice  and  courage.      Tsuda  is 


INCENSE-BURNER    IN    THE    SHAPE    OF    A    JUNK 


270  LETTEES  EKOM  JAPAN 

undergoing  a  term  of  imprisonment  —  I  think  ten 
years  is  the  time  mentioned;  but  I  am  sure  that  if 
he  ever  comes  out  alive,  he  will  have  to  change  his 
name. 

The  two  coolies  who  undoubtedly  saved  the  life  of 
the  Cesare'vitch  have  been  magnificently  rewarded  by 
the  Russian  Government.  They  are  young,  good-look- 
ing fellows,  who,  from  being  members  of  the  poorest 
class  of  Japanese  subjects,  have  suddenly  become  rich 
men,  with  decorations  and  reputations  of  which  the 
Japanese  think  even  more  than  of  money.  Their  own 
Government  awarded  them  each  a  medal,  and  a  little 
pension  of  thirty-six  dollars  a  year  for  the  rest  of 
their  lives  —  a  sum  quite  enough  to  keep  them  from 
want,  living  as  they  would  with  the  ingenious  frugality 
of  their  race.  But  the  Russian  Government  has  done 
things  very  magnificently.  Each  man  has  been  awarded 
a  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  life ;  the  Cesarevitch 
himself  has  presented  each  of  them  with  a  sum  of 
two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  a  Russian  deco- 
ration has  been  added  to  the  Japanese  one.  The  two 
heroes,  it  is  said,  were  completely  stunned  with  this 
munificence.  The  sailors  of  the  Prince's  vessel  made 
a  tremendous  feast  for  them  on  the  day  when  they 
came  on  board  to  receive  their  reward ;  and  I  hear 
that  they  have  gone  back  to  their  homes  in  a  distant 
province  to  buy  rich  farms  and  live  at  ease,  doubtless 
to  marry  the  girls  of  their  hearts,  and  to  tell  the  tale 
of  their  courage  and  good  luck  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  271 

But  the  last  note  is  a  sad  one.  It  is  impossible 
not  to  be  sorry  for  the  Governor  of  the  Province  and 
the  Chief  of  Police,  who  were  held  responsible  for  the 
outrage,  and  who  really  and  truly  had  done  all  that  it 
was  possible  to  do  to  ensure  the  Prince's  safety.  They 
have  both  been  dismissed,  one  degraded  as  well.  In 
spite  of  all  messages  of  forgiveness  (and  the  Russians 
have  been  very  generous),  a  most  painful  feeling 
remains,  and  painful  memories  must  be  carried  for 
many  years.  The  sovereigns  and  their  people  mourn 
together  for  the  wicked  madness  of  one  man. 

A  little  samurai  girl,  a  mere  child  of  sixteen,  I 
think,  was  in  service  near  Yokohama.  She  travelled 
to  Kyoto,  dressed  herself  in  her  holiday  robes,  com- 
posed her  poor  little  body  for  death  by  tying  her  sash 
tightly  round  her  knees  after  the  custom  of  samurai 
women,  and  cut  her  throat  in  the  doorway  of  the 
great  Government  offices.  They  found  on  her  two  let- 
ters :  one  a  farewell  to  her  family ;  the  other  contain- 
ing a  message,  which  she  begged  those  who  found  her 
to  convey  to  the  Emperor,  saying  that  she  gave  her 
life  gladly,  hoping  that  though  so  lowly  it  might  wipe 
out  the  insult,  and  she  entreated  him  to  be  comforted 
by  her  death.  Her  name,  they  say,  was  Yuko,  which 
means  full  of  valour. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

THE  COTTAGE   AT   HORIUCHI.  THE    DEAR    DEAD. GIFTS 

FOR     THE     SPIRITS. THE     BOTTOM     OF    THE    SEA. 

FISHING   IN   THE    EMPRESS'S    SEA    GARDEN 

July,  1891. 

"A  /TY  third  summer  in  Japan  is  well  on  its  way.  I 
-"-•-  shall  not  see  a  fourth  —  in  succession,  at  any 
rate;  for  we  go  home  on  leave  next  year.  Europe 
draws  one  back  with  a  thousand  cords ;  but  even  there 
I  shall  regret  the  little  Palace  of  Peace  among  the 
Karuizawa  pines.  Before  transporting  the  family  to 
those  heights,  I  have  been  taking  a  long  holiday  by 
the  sea  at  Horiuchi,  a  place  about  an  hour's  drive  from 
Kamakura ;  Dr.  Baelz  has  a  Japanese  cottage  there,  and 
kindly  lent  it  to  me  for  the  time.  Our  station  was 
Dzushi,  and  there  I  alighted  one  warm  afternoon  with 
one  friend,  one  interpreter,  and  Rinzo,  Matsu,  and  our 
"  Big  Cook  San,"  the  gentleman  who  tumbled  through 
the  bridge  last  summer.  The  poor  fellow  has  been  suf- 
fering from  bad  lungs  ever  since  the  influenza  epidemic, 
and  I  thought  a  change  would  do  him  good.  I  only 
mention  him  because  when  they  all  turned  out  of  the 
train  I  was  so  amused  by  the  mass  of  baggage  he  had 

i/  OO      O 

brought.     Evidently  the  rumour  had  gone  abroad  that 

272 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  273 

Horiuchi  was  a  place  quite  in  the  wilds,  and  that  all 
our  comfort  there  would  depend  on  what  we  brought 
with  us.  Big  Cook  San  descended  to  the  platform, 
jingling  like  a  gypsy  tinker  with  all  the  sauce-pans 
that  he  had  hung  round  himself  at  the  last  moment. 
An  omelet-pan  and  a  bain-marie,  miraculously  tied  to- 
gether, hung  over  his  shoulder ;  a  potato-steamer  from 
his  waist;  in  one  hand  he  carried  a  large  blue  teapot, 
and  in  the  other  a  sheaf  of  gorgeous  irises,  carefully 
tied  up  in  matting,  for  fear  that  there  should  be  no 
flowers  at  Horiuchi !  A  whole  vanload  of  goods  had 
preceded  us,  so  these  were  after-thoughts,  trifles  gath- 
ered up  at  the  last  moment.  We  let  the  servants  and 
baggage  start  before  us  from  the  station,  and  followed 
in  a  leisurely  fashion,  stopping  our  jinrikshas  every 
now  and  then  to  admire  the  lovely  glimpses  down 
green  gorges,  through  which  the  road  winds  and  turns 
again  and  again  before  it  comes  out  on  the  beach  near 
Horiuchi.  This  is  a  tiny  village,  built  in  the  round  of 
a  bay  within  Odawara  Bay.  The  hamlet  is  as  poor  as 
possible ;  but  the  air  is  so  pure  that  people  have  been 
tempted  to  build  a  few  villas  there  for  villeggiatura. 
The  Italian  Minister  has  a  gorgeous  one  on  the  ground 
that  rises  from  the  beach  ;  but  it  does  not  compare  with 
the  doctor's  cottage  for  beauty  of  situation.  This  is 
planted  so  that  when  one  enters  the  front  door  one 
looks  right  through  the  house,  and  the  most  beautiful 
picture  of  Fuji  across  the  bay  is  seen  framed  in  by  the 
pillars  of  the  verandah;  and  when  one  comes,  as  in 
duty  bound,  to  stand  beside  the  pillars  and  salute  the 


274  LETTEKS   FKOM   JAPAN 

queen  of  mountains,  the  sea  is  almost  rolling  to  one's 
feet,  just  stopped  by  a  low  stone  wall  and  a  green  dune, 
planted  with  pines  that  sing  night  and  day  as  the  salt 
breeze  rustles  in  from  the  sea. 

There  are  but  six  rooms  in  the  house,  all  floored 
with  sweet-smelling  mats  the  colour  of  wheat ;  the  bath- 
room is  of  clean  polished  woods,  and  the  great  tank  in 
the  floor  is  always  bubbling  with  oceans  of  hot  water, 


BY    THE    SI'MMER    SEA 


where  one  washes  all  fatigue  away  in  these  warm  days. 
As  the  house  was  meant  merely  for  a  bachelor's  bunga- 
low, it  contains  one  jug  and  basin,  which  are  kept  on 
a  shelf  in  the  bathroom,  where  we  went  in  and  used 
them  by  turns.  At  our  first  lunch  we  discovered  that, 
although  the  table  was  gorgeous  with  Cook  San's  irises, 
nobody  had  thought  of  knives  and  forks;  two  sets 
were  found  in  a  luncheon  basket ;  and  then  a  runner 
was  despatched  over  the  hills  to  borrow  some  from  the 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  275 

hotel  at  Kamakura.  But  I  did  not  mind  at  all.  The 
irises  were  far  better  than  knives  and  forks ;  and  with 
the  sight  of  the  sea  rolling  in  so  close  in  crisp  wavelets, 
the  music  that  sea  and  pines  made  together,  and  above 
all,  that  vision  of  Fuji  San  and  the  Hakone  Mountains 
across  the  blue  spread  of  the  bay,  one  felt  ashamed  of 
needing  food  at  all.  All  the  first  day  the  beloved  Fuji 
seemed  to  be  gazing  at  us,  making  us  feel  small,  but 
very  happy.  This  morning  a  little  good-natured  gale 
has  been  tossing  the  trees  about,  and  the  sacred  moun- 
tain has  wrapped  herself  in  clouds.  I  suppose  I  have 
said  it  again  and  again ;  but  I  feel  impelled  to  say  it 
once  more,  —  in  Japan  one  cannot  think  of  Fuji  as  a 
thing,  a  mere  object  in  the  landscape ;  she  becomes 
something  personal,  dominating,  a  factor  in  life.  No 
day  seems  quite  sad  or  aimless  in  which  one  has  had 
a  glimpse  of  her. 

Last  night  her  black  shadow  looked  intensely  solemn, 
with  the  stars  above,  and  hundreds  of  torches  in  the 
fishing-boats  floating  on  the  sea  beneath.  I  asked  to- 
day why  the  sea  was  so  full  of  stars  last  night  —  I  had 
never  noticed  it  at  other  times,  but  only  in  these  July 
days.  And  then  I  was  told  the  story  of  the  Festival  of 
the  Dead,  which  I  had  heard  spoken  of  in  Tokyo  in  a 
scornful,  superficial  way,  but  which  I  hear  is  kept  re- 
ligiously in  the  provinces  still. 

The  dear  dead !  Little  children  and  old  people,  and 
all  the  souls  that  pass  out  of  earth's  family  day  by  day, 
disrobed  of  then'  fair  garment  of  the  flesh,  they  love 
not  the  short  winter  days  or  the  long  dark  winter  nights ; 


276  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

but  when  summer  broods  over  the  land,  when  the  night 
is  welcome  because  it  brings  a  breath  of  coolness  to 
those  whose  work  is  not  yet  over,  then  they,  who  have 
laid  by  the  wholesome  tasks  of  earth,  come  back,  in 
shadowy  myriads,  to  visit  their  old  homes ;  to  hover 
round  those  who  still  love  and  remember  them ;  to  smile, 
if  ghosts  'can  smile,  at  the  food  and  money,  clothing  and 
sandals,  and  little  ships  for  travelling,  all  made  ready 
by  the  loving  souls  to  whom  only  such  earthly  needs 
are  comprehensible,  but  who,  in  preparing  their  humble 
gifts,  are  investing  them  with  the  only  present  the 
spirits  may  take  home  again  —  the  gift  of  love,  which 
never  forgets,  or  disbelieves,  or  despairs. 

Just  for  these  three  days,  of  July — the  13th,  14th, 
and  15th  —  heart-broken  mothers  feel  the  little  lost 
son  or  daughter  close  at  hand,  brought  back  perhaps 
by  Jizo  Sama,  the  god  who  watches  over  the  spirits 
of  little  children.  The  lights  are  lit  before  the  small 
ihai,  the  death  tablet,  set  up  in  the  place  of  honour, 
and  inscribed  with  a  name  that  the  little  one  would 
not  have  turned  from  his  play  for  here,  that  never 
passed  his  mother's  lips  till  he  was  carried. away  from 
her  —  his  dead  name,  the  one  by  which  his  shadowy 
companions  call  him  in  the  yonder  world.  Full  of 
comfort  must  these  three  days  be  for  the  faithful  souls 
who  are  always  yearning  to  offer  some  service  or  some 
token  of  love  to  the  dead.  Now  they  come  back ;  and 
though  no  one  sees  them,  they  take  their  old  places 
in  their  old  homes.  They  find  the  house  decked  and 
garnished  for  their  coming;  the  holy  lotus  flower,  never 


LETTERS   FKOM   JAPAN  279 

used  save  for  their  honour,  is  gathered  and  set  by  their 
shrine ;  and  many  another  lovely  plant  and  sprig,  all 
with  symbolical  meanings,  are  brought  in.  Rice  and 
vegetables,  fruit  and  cakes,  are  placed  for  them ;  no 
animal  food  is  offered,  as  pure  spirits  would  consider 
that  a  sinful  nourishment,  but  tea  is  poured  out  with 
punctilious  ceremony  in  tiny  cups  at  stated  hours.  In 
some  towns  there  is  a  market  or  fair  held  expressly 
that  people  may  buy  all  they  need  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  ghosts.  As  these  always  come  from  the  sea, 
torches  are  stuck  in  the  sands  to  show  them  where  to 
land ;  and  when  the  three  days  are  ended,  and  the 
travellers  must  go  back,  reluctantly,  to  their  shadow 
homes,  then  tiny  ships  are  launched  —  straw  ships  of 
lovely  and  elaborate  designs,  freighted  with  dainty  foods, 
and  lighted  by  small  lanterns.  Incense,  too,  is  burning 
before  they  set  forth ;  and  then  they  go,  by  river  or 
stream  if  the  sea  is  distant,  with  their  little  cargo  of 
love-gifts  visible,  and  their  spirit-travellers  invisible, 
back  to  their  joy  or  their  sorrow  in  the  underworld.1 

The  Japanese  remind  one  of  sweet,  wise  children, 
whose  play  will  always  be  an  imitation,  a  childish  ren- 
dering, of  some  great  truth  —  overlooked,  as  often  as 
not,  by  their  elders  in  the  rush  and  bustle  of  life. 

I  have  been  boating  in  the  little  Horiuchi  Bay,  and 
have  gazed  down  for  hours  into  the  depths  below  through 
a  glass-bottomed  box  let  down  over  the  side  of  the  boat. 
It  is  a  perfectly  simple  contrivance :  the  glass  rests  on 

1  See  Lafcadio  Hearn's  beautiful  and  complete  description  of  the 
Festival  of  the  Dead  in  Glimpses  of  Unfamiliar  Japan  (1894). 


280 


LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 


or  just  under  the  water,  and  the  wooden  sides  shut  out 
all  reflection ;  a  series  of  small  holes  allow  any  water 
that  splashes  over  the  glass  to  run  off,  —  one  looks 
through  it,  —  and  suddenly  one  seems  to  be  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  Great  fish  and  little  fish  go  darting 
in  and  out  among  the  wet,  sun-touched  forests  of  the 
ocean  bed ;  the  rocks  are  shining  palaces,  guarded  by 
fierce  red  starfish,  who  crawl  slowly  backwards  and  for- 
wards on  their  beat.  The  shells  open  and  close,  and 


iKEAT    J-'ISH    AND    L1TTLK    FISH 


swim  about  full  of  the  strange  soul-bodies  which  are 
their  only  life ;  there  is  colour,  movement,  expression ; 
continents  of  clean  silver  sand,  bordered  by  little  reaches 
of  golden  woodland  waving  lazily  on  the  water  as  our 
tree  boughs  wave  in  the  wind;  the  fish  have  physiog- 
nomies, and  meet,  and  fight,  and  bend,  and  dart  away, 
all  with  their  own  little  life  to  see  to,  their  own  ex- 
tremely important  affairs  to  conduct.  And  the  sun 
laughs  down  through  the  moving  liquid  sheen,  and 
makes  many  a  pool  of  radiance  in  the  quiet  spots,  and 
flings  on  the  sand  whole  networks  of  living  light  that 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  281 

recall  the  flashing  mail  of  the  goldfish,  or  the  pattern 
that  wind  and  sunshine  will  ripple  into  the  corn,  or  the 
gleam  that  the  warmth  of  aeons  has  flushed  into  ala- 
baster, where  milk  and  honey  made  marble  still  let  the 
light  shine  through.  Ah !  these  are  all  the  vintages  of 
the  wine  and  the  warmth  of  life ;  whatever  the  shape 
they  take,  the  source  of  their  beauty  is  one,  —  and  would 
I  could  know  its  name ! 

And  all  through  a  pane  of  glass  and  a  bit  of 
wood  ?  Ah !  well,  a  less  thing  than  that  may  open  a 
world  to  our  eyes.  The  glass  makes  the  surface  calm, 
the  wood  shuts  out  the  misleading  reflections  of  other 
things.  It  would  be  good  to  apply  it  to  life  some- 
times, I  think. 

All  my  peace  took  wings  at  the  sight  of  a  telegram 
calling  me  back  to  Tokyo  long  before  I  was  ready  to 
go.  Very  cross,  indeed,  I  was  to  leave  the  cottage  in 
the  bay;  and  my  temper  was  not  improved  when  I 
found  that  the  summons  meant  an  unqualified  series 
of  official  corvees.  Some  people  who  had  a  right  to 
ask  it,  wanted  to  be  presented  to  the  Emperor  and 
Empress,  who,  alas !  are  in  anything  but  a  gay  mood 
just  now;  but  they  were  kind  and  good-natured,  and 
so  were  the  Princes;  and  my  philosophy,  which  had 
suffered  greatly  at  being  recalled  to  Tokyo  and  audi- 
ences, was  made  quite  serviceable  again  by  finding  one 
of  the  dearest  of  old  friends  waiting  for  me  in  town, 
whose  coming  I  would  not  have  missed  for  worlds. 
We  talked  of  nothing  but  Rome  and  Villa  Doria 
anemones  and  old  friends  for  days,  and  took  a  deep 


282  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

draught  of  the  wine  of  pleasant  memories  laid  by  in  the 
Roman  summers  of  our  youth. 

There  was  one  bit  of  that  week  in  Tokyo  which 
will  be  added  to  the  store  of  my  memory  picture 
gallery.  A  lunch  was  given  for  our  distinguished 
visitors  in  that  Palace  by  the*  sea  where  three  months 
ago  the'  Empress's  cherry-blossom  fete  took  place.  It 
is  called  a  Palace ;  but  it  consists  mostly  of  a  series 
of  pavilions,  lovely  little  Japanese  buildings  open  to 
the  view,  and  having  hardly  any  decorations  except 
the  exquisite  quality  and  colour  of  the  woods  used, 
and  the  perfect  taste  which  makes  them  seem  as  much 
a  part  of  the  scenery  as  the  fairy  islands  on  which 
they  stand  or  the  blue  water  lapping  round  their 
steps.  For  in  this  dream  garden  (forgive  me,  if  I  told 
you  of  this  before !)  the  real  salt  sea  is  everywhere, 
running  its  tides  in  and  out  of  tiny  lakes  and  wind- 
ing canals,  spanned  by  red  bridges,  delicate  as  if  built 
with  the  slats  of  carved  fans.  The  great  sea  fish 
come  swimming  in,  and  a  number  of  fishermen  had 
been  brought  with  their  boats  that  we  might  see  the 
fishing  with  the  circular  net,  which  is  an  old  Japanese 
amusement. 

The  boat  is  low  and  slender,  and  one  man  sits  in 
the  stern  with  a  long  single  oar  rather  like  the  one 
used  by  the  gondoliers  in  Venice.  He  pushes  hither 
and  thither  till  the  spot  seems  promising  for  a  throw. 
The  fisherman  his  companion  stands  on  the  prow, 
which  rises  a  good  deal  at  the  point.  I  do  not  know 
whether  these  were  picked  men,  but  I  never  saw 


LETTERS   FROM   JAP  AX 


283 


straight  er  or  goodlier 
lads  than  these  fisher- 
boys.  Their  firm  brown 
limbs  looked  as  hard  as 
bronze  ;  their  bright  eyes 
and  set  resolute  faces 
showed  the  resource  and 
courage  that  come  of 
long  training  in  a  diffi- 
cult art.  The  pose  of 
the  one  who  was  wait- 
ing to  throw  the  net  was 
the  most  perfect  expres- 
sion of  strength  in  rest, 
but  ready  for  the  hunt- 
er's spring.  As  the}' 
floated  across  the  lake, 
whose  water  was  ruffled 
by  a  coming  storm,  I 
longed  for  an  artist  to  be 
at  hand,  and  make  the 
picture  one  that  would 
keep  for  ever.  Do  you  know  that  lurid  light  which 
comes  before  a  storm,  when  all  the  sky  goes  black  as 
ink,  but  from  some  sharp  rift  an  angry  shaft  pours 
down  and  seems  to  be  absorbed  by  the  greens  of  the 
trees  and  grass,  until  they  positively  glow  as  if  with 
some  indwelling  radiance  of  their  own  ?  So  it  was 
that  day  in  the  Hama  Rikkyu  sea  garden.  The  black 
of  the  sky,  the  gold  greens  of  the  foliage,  the  red  of 


A    SHOAL    OF    FISH 


284  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

the  bridges,  and  the  storm  light  on  the  water  made  a 
harmony  almost  too  vivid  to  be  borne ;  and  on  that 
background  floated  the  slim  boat,  twisting  and  turning 
like  a  water  snake,  while  the  boy  standing  high  on 
her  prow  gathered  the  black  coils  of  his  net  under 
one  bare  arm,  poised  his  body  in  a  bold  curve  far 
over  the  point,  and  with  a  sudden  movement  flung  the 
net  with  a  rushing  noise  out  on  the  water,  where  it 
lay,  a  perfect  round,  for  a  few  minutes,  before  it  began 
to  sink  in  search  of  its  prey.  Then  slowly  and  very 
gently  it  was  drawn  back  by  a  length  of  rope  to  the 
hand  that  had  thrown  it ;  the  thrower  sprang  down 
from  his  point  of  vantage,  and  sat  in  the  boat,  draw- 
ing in  fold  after  fold  of  the  fine  black  mesh,  and 
taking  from  its  snares  great  fighting  fish  whose  scales 
gleamed  unbearably  bright  as  they  turned  and  leapt  in 
their  furious  struggle  for  life  under  the  dun  glare  of 
the  coming  storm. 

Then  I  looked  up,  and  outside  our  green  embank- 
ments a  great  square  sail,  blown  out  with  the  strong 
south  wind,  went  hurrying  up  the  bay  before  the  storm, 
as  sublimely  indifferent  to  Empress's  gardens  as  its 
white  companions  the  sea-gulls,  who  flew  backwards 
and  forwards  from  the  free  sea  outside  to  the  captive 
lagoons  within,  shrieking  news  to  each  other  about 
the  storm. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

KARUIZAWA    AGAIN.  —  FURIHATA     IS     RESTORED     TO     US.  — 
OUR    OWN    VOLCANO.  —  THE    MOUNTAIN'S    OUTER    COURT. 
—  THE    IRIYAMA    TOGE    AND    THE    CATHEDRAL    ROCKS.— 
SUNSET     LILIES.  —  A     FORGOTTEN      MONASTERY     AND     A 
DYING    MAN 

KARUIZAWA,  August,  1891. 

/~\UR  Palace  of  Peace  seems  even  cooler  and  greener 
^-^  than  last  year,  and  has  already  some  of  the 
atmosphere  of  home  about  it.  It  is  a  very  wet  home 
to-day ;  this  is  supposed  to  be  the  last  day  of  the 
rainy  season,  and  our  world  of  woods  and  hills  is 
drinking  in  the  gracious  flood,  and  promising,  to  the 
ears  that  can  hear,  a  rich  harvest  of  wild  flowers  and 
woodsy  shadiness  and  emerald  turf  to  make  up  for 
these  grey  wet  hours,  which,  by  the  way,  we  are  all 
enjoying  after  our  own  fashion.  The  Chief  is  writing, 
as  usual ;  it  is  now  past  five  o'clock,  and  ever  since 
nine  or  thereabouts  this  morning  the  sounds  of 
dictionary  work  have  reached  me  from  the  other  side 

of   the  wooden  house,  where  Mr.  G and  his  writer 

Okamoto  San  discuss  and  disagree  over  the  possible 
and  impossible  meaning  of  all  the  Chinese  words  in 
the  language.  The  third  volume  of  the  precious 
dictionary  must  have  grown  as  much  as  the  grass  and 
the  trees  during  this  long  day  of  rain.  The  very  dogs 
are  subdued  and  quiet,  lying  recklessly  where  people 

285 


286  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

are  sure  to  walk  over  them,  gazing  out  with  the  calm- 
ness of  despair,  knowing  that  no  human  being  in  his 
senses  would  take  down  hat  and  stick  to  give  them  a 
run  across  country  to-day.  One  beautiful  Gordon  setter, 
eldest  son  of  Floppy  Flo  (a  British  subject,  who  came 
to  us  off  a  kind  of  pirate  sealer,  where  several  murders 
had  been  committed,  and  whose  captain,  when  sent  to 
prison,  made  the  most  careful  arrangements  for  his 
dog's  welfare),  began  to  weep  pitifully  the  first  time  he 
woke  up,  in  the  cold  dawn  of  the  hills,  far  from  his 
mother  and  his  sister  Sodeska,  who  were  left  in  town. 
The  rain  was  blowing  into  his  kennel ;  and  I  crept 
down  in  the  grey  of  the  morning  to  comfort  him,  and 

found    the   faithful  D there   before   me.      It  seems 

he  had  been  very  cross  with  the  noisy  puppy  till  the 
nature  of  the  trouble  was  made  clear ;  and  all  day  long 
he  was  reproaching  himself  and  making  excuses  for 
poor  baby  Gordon,  whom  he  treats  exactly  as  if  he  was 
a  two-legged  baby  instead  of  a  four-footed  one. 

Another  faithful  person  is  once  more  with  us,  to 
my  great  joy,  and  that  is  Furihata,  the  good  policeman. 
We  have  not  been  without  news  of  this  hero  since  we 

parted ;   for  at  the  New  Year  H sent   him  a  little 

present,  which  was  acknowledged  in  English  as  follows : 

"  To  HON.  ERASER. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  Accept  my  best  Thanks  for  Your  very  kind 
present  as  it  New  Year's  compliment.  That  is  valuable  in  itself ; 
but  I  shall  doubly  esteem  it  as  a  gift  from  You. 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  F.  EURIHATA. 

"416,  NAGANO  STREETS,  NAGANO  KEN." 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAX  2S7 

On  reading  this,  I  felt  sure  that  Furihata  had  made 
great  progress  in  English  ;  and  as  we  must  have  an 
escort  in  these  solitudes,  asked  before  leaving  town 
to  have  him  awarded  to  us  again.  I  was  rather  dis- 
appointed to  be  told  that,  much  to  the  regret  of  the 
Foreign  Office,  my  request  could  not  be  granted,  as 
the  man  had  left  the  service.  On  inquiring  what  had 
become  of  him,  we  learnt  that  he  had  got  tired  of 
wielding  the  strong  arm  of  the  law,  and  had  taken  a 
place  as  railway  porter  at  Shin  Karuizawa  Station, 
about  half  an  hour  from  here.  Then  I  thought  no 
more  about  the  matter  until  the  day  I  came  here.  Our 
journey  was.  as  usual,  extremely  sensational.  Train, 
jinriksha,  sedan-chair,  and  "  shanks's  mare  "  —  as  our 
old  nurse  used  to  call  going  on  foot — were  all  tried 
by  different  members  of  the  party,  not  to  mention  the 
jumping  matchbox  called  a  tram-car,  which  nothing 
would  induce  me  to  enter,  although  I  consented  to  let 
it  carry  my  precious  luggage.  There  was  so  much  of 
this  that  it  filled  the  whole  car,  the  only  one  to  be 
had,  leaving  just  room  for  one  "boy,"  an  inexperienced 
creature,  who  jumped  hi  with  the  courage  born  of 
ignorance.  He  was  left  in  town  last  year,  and  knew 
not  the  horrors  of  that  winding,  precipitous  mountain 
road,  about  three  feet  deep  in  black  mud.  The  servants 
who  had  tried  it  last  year  turned  from  it  like  one  man, 
preferring  a  four-hours'  walk  up  the  steepest  paths  of 
the  mountains  to  a  repetition  of  their  previous  sufferings. 

It  was  early  in  the  afternoon  when  we  finally 
started  from  Yokukawa  to  make  the  ascent.  Only 


288  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

three  jinrikshas  could  be  found  in  the  whole  town ; 
my  own  chair  had  been  brought  from  Tokyo ;  and 
after  great  efforts  a  kago,  or  basket-litter,  was  got 
from  another  village  with  two  coolies  for  my  little 
amah.  It  was  about  as  big  as  a  good-sized  workbox; 
but  she  packed  herself  into  it  with  great  ingenuity, 
and  smiled,  as  she  always  does  at  everything,  from 
presents  to  scoldings.  Most  of  the  dogs  had  gone  on 

already  with  Mr.  G ;  so  we  had  only  Tip,  the  Brown 

Ambassador,  and  the  elephantine  Gordon,  who  had  cried 
aloud  all  the  way  from  Tokyo.  Even  the  experienced 
Tip  had  been  very  unhappy  in  the  train ;  and  now 
they  both  trotted  delightedly  through  the  mud  and 
wet  grass  for  two  or  three  miles,  and  then  politely  but 
firmly  asked  to  be  taken  up.  We  had  not  yet  parted 
company  with  the  jinrikshas;  so  Gordon  was  solemnly 
installed  with  the  Chief,  and  Tip  got  on  the  little  foot- 
board of  my  chair,  standing  well  over  the  edge,  as 
dogs  always  will  do,  and  sniffing  excitedly  at  the  wet 
mountain  breeze,  which  doubtless  brought  him  news  of 
pheasants  and  rabbits.  Once  he  lurched,  flopped  hope- 
lessly over  the  edge,  and  hung  in  his  leash  for  a  sec- 
ond, till  I  pulled  him  up  again,  a  sadder  and  a  wiser 
dog. 

As  we  mounted  higher  and  higher  among  the 
lonely  hills,  a  fine  wet  mist  came  down,  wrapping  us 
round  like  a  veil,  and  making  the  figures  at  the  head 
of  the  procession  look  huge  and  indistinct  to  those  at 
the  end.  The  mountain  shrubs  and  all  the  nameless 
flowers  gave  out  their  bitter-sweet  perfume ;  and  many 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  289 

a  wet  branch  shook  its  rain  of  cold  drops  on  my  neck, 
as  I  passed  rustling  through  the  leaves,  borne  high 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  men.  At  last  the  point  came 
where  things  on  wheels  must  part  from  things  on  feet ; 
the  Chief  took  the  rikslia  road,  and  I  and  the  kayo 
and  the  walkers  began  to  climb  the  other.  The  walk- 
ers included,  of  course,  Rinzo,  O'Matsu's  husband,  who 
considers  himself  entitled  to  go  with  me  on  all  the  ex- 
peditions ;  "  Small  Cook  San,"  an  absurd  fat  boy,  very 
proud  of  his  European  clothes  (his  commander,  "  Big 
Cook  San,"  who  is  about  half  his  size,  had  gone  on 
before) ;  and,  bringing  up  the  rear,  Kane,  the  artistic 
pantry-boy,  who  spends  his  time  in  worshipping  my 

English   housekeeper,  Mrs.  D ,  for   whose  benefit  he 

makes  the  most  wonderful  Japanese  landscapes  in  wash- 
tubs  or  old  boxes,  with  bridges  and  waterfalls,  and  lit- 
tle men  and  women,  miniature  lanterns  and  goldfish, 
and  pine  trees  three  inches  high  —  perfect  curiosities  of 
imagination  and  dainty  handiwork.  His  bit  of  a  room 
is  always  a  study  of  art-arrangement,  his  hanging  pic- 
tures and  ornaments  all  in  exactly  the  right  places. 
He  is  quite  the  tallest  man  in  the  servants'  quarters, 
and  had  caused  me  nearly  to  choke  with  laughter  that 
morning  when  he  appeared  at  the  station  got  up  in  a 
military  suit  of  dazzling  white,  frogs  and  buttons  com- 
plete, and  crowned  by  an  enormous  pith  helmet.  The 
whole  costume  was  so  carefully  copied  from  that  of 
our  Government  official,  Inspector  Peter  Peacock,  that 
I  thought  for  a  moment  it  was  he  as  I  saw  him  pass 
in  the  distance. 


290  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

Kane  looked  quite  as  neat  and  dazzling,  after  his 
long  tramp  up  the  wet  mountain  paths ;  every  time 
that  I  turned  my  head  to  see  how  my  poor  retainers 
were  getting  on,  a  succession  of  beaming  smiles  met 
my  gaze,  one  behind  the  other,  fading  away  into  the 
enwrapping  mist,  like  that  of  the  immortal  Cheshire 
cat.  The  top  of  the  pass  was  nearly  reached,  and  I, 
looking  before  me,  had  forgotten  my  companions,  and 
had  been  enjoying  the  divine  misty  solitudes  for  two 
hours  or  more,  when,  a  few  yards  higher  up  the  steep 
path,  a  sudden  frantic  commotion  of  wagging  tails  be- 
came visible,  followed  by  an  outline  in  the  grey  haze 

that  soon  resolved  itself  into  Mr.  G ,  surrounded  by 

all  the  dogs.  In  two  seconds  more  the  columns  were, 
as  war  correspondents  say,  involved  in  inextricable  con- 
fusion. Three  dachses,  two  setters,  and  the  old  pointer 
Bess  were  jumping  over  me  and  each  other  in  the 
wildest  transports  of  joy.  When  the  dogs  subsided  a 
little,  I  had  a  chance  to  notice  another  spectre  in  the 
mist,  an  official  spectre,  standing  at  attention  in  a 
policeman's  uniform.  "  Furihata  ?  "  "  Not  yet,"  said 

Mr.  G .  "This  is  the  inspector  of  the  district;  but 

you  will  find  Furihata  at  the  house.  On  hearing  of 
your  wish  to  see  him  again,  a  paternal  Government 
ordered  him  to  give  up  portering  and  return  to  the 
service  of  his  country.  Of  course  he  obeyed,  and  you 
will  have  him  all  summer ! " 

And  so  it  was.  When  I  came  within  sight  of  the 
cottage,  Furihata,  gorgeous  in  white  and  gold,  came 
towards  me  accompanied  by  his  sergeant,  and  ex- 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  291 

claimed,  with  a  melodramatic  gesture  and  a  voice  of 
triumph,  "My  Furihata!"  I  said,  of  course,  that  I  was 
very  glad  to  see  him,  and  to  know  that  he  was  to  be 
attached  to  us  during  the  summer.  He  escorted  us 
solemnly  over  the  threshold  of  Peace  Cottage,  and  then, 
on  the  steps,  gathered  himself  up  for  a  grand  effort, 
and  exclaimed  with  a  gasp,  " My  —  protection  —  British 
Legation  —  Karuizawa!"  He  was  so  pleased  with  this 
phrase  that  he  came  back  twice  that  evening  to  say 
it  again,  and  has,  I  hear,  repeated  it  to  several  of  our 
friends  who  have  taken  houses  here  for  the  summer; 
only  for  them  the  wily  creature  substitutes  "  foreign- 
ers" for  British  Legation. 

I  wrote  you  so  many  letters  from  Karuizawa  last 
year  that  I  fear  there  are  few  new  things  left  to  tell 
you  of  now,  except  two  expeditions  which  had  not 
taken  place  then :  one  to  the  Iriyama  Toge ;  and  one 
to  Komoro,  a  Buddhist  monastery  in  the  hills.  I  will 
begin  with  Iriyama  Toge,  the  Cathedral  Rocks,  as  for- 
eigners have  named  the  place.  You  remember  that  our 
home  here  is  on  the  northern  edge  of  a  plain  made  by 
a  wide  sweep  between  two  parallel  lines  of  mountains, 
all  at  such  a  height  that,  as  a  prosaic  British  friend 
of  ours  puts  it,  "one  has  left  all  that  bamboo  tropical 
rubbish  behind."  No  bamboo  grows  here,  no  camellia 
trees  or  palms,  only  pine  and  oak  and  chestnut  clothe 
the  hillsides ;  but  the  Lilium  auratum  blooms  in  profu- 
sion, and  our  cottage  is  like  a  hothouse  just  now  with 
the  masses  of  splendid  flowers,  lilies,  white  and  scarlet 
and  golden,  bluebells,  hydrangea,  and  a  most  superb 


292  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

white  blossom  like  gardenia  growing  on  trees  twenty 
feet  high.  These  and  many  others  the  gardener  brings 
in  every  day  from  the  woods,  and  our  few  tame  garden 
flowers  look  poor  and  weak  beside  them.  As  I  was  say- 
ing, we  have  our  home  among  the  foothills  of  Asama 
Yama,  the  never-sleeping  volcano,  which  is  the  back- 
ground of  our  view.  From  us  the  land  drops  for  a  little 
way,  and  then  one  finds  oneself  on  the  level  flowery 


floor  of  the  valley,  about  four  miles  wide,  and  extend- 
ing some  six  or  seven  miles  towards  the  south  before  it 
begins  to  drop  in  sheer  terraces  down  to  Nagano,  Nao- 
etsu,  and  the  sea-coast.  The  Iriyama  Toge  is  the  fence 
of  hills  which  rise  softly  on  the  southern  boundary  of 
our  upland  valley ;  softly  on  our  side  indeed,  but  be- 
tween them  and  the  distant  plain  below  comes  one  of 
those  amazing  successions  of  crags  and  peaks,  gorges 
and  ravines,  grey  rock  and  green  woodland  and  mossy 


LETTEES   FROM  JAPAX  293 

slope,  which  look  —  as  if  some  Titan  had  been  sampling 
creation  in  the  smallest  possible  space.  If  ever  there 
were  Titans,  this  country  must  have  been  one  of  their 
homes.  Asama  Yama  is  active  enough  now;  but  we 
have  seen,  thank  Heaven !  no  such  play  as  she  used  to 
indulge  in  —  play  which  covered  her  southern  slopes 
with  boulders,  some  of  them  a  hundred  feet  in  diame- 
ter; which  in  1783,  during  the  most  frightful  eruption 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  continued  for  six  weeks  to 
shake  the  empire  of  Japan  to  its  very  foundations, 
while,  as  the  writers  of  the  time  tell  us,  "  the  mountain 
was  on  fire  from  the  crown  to  the  base,"  and  never 
ceased  to  pour  out  lava,  mud,  rocks,  and  ashes  (these 
fell  two  inches  thick  eighty  miles  away),  wrhile  the  roar 
and  smoke  seemed  to  go  up  to  heaven  itself.  Over  fifty 
villages  were  then  destroyed ;  valleys  were  filled  up  to 
the  brim  with  stones ;  our  upland  plain,  which  had  been 
a  rich  rice-bearing  district,  was  covered  with  something 
like  four  feet  of  solid  scoria,  while  the  streams  which 
watered  it  were  turned  aside ;  the  loss  of  life  could  not 
be  counted ;  the  lava  stream  ran  thirty  miles  in  sixteen 
hours  down  the  northern  slope,  and  lies  there  a  black 
scar  to  this  day.  No  wonder  that  the  country  is  de- 
serted, that  the  two  or  three  hamlets  are  poor  and 
miserable !  Who  would  build  good  houses  near  such  a 
devouring  monster  ?  who  that  could  help  it  would  come 
within  reach  of  its  devastating  breath  ?  I  never  realised 
until  we  came  here  that  it  was  our  beautiful  Asama 
Yama  that  had  done  all  this  mischief,  or  I  doubt 
whether  I  should  have  had  the  courage  to  settle  so 


294  LETTEKS  FR03I  JAPAN 

close  to  its  sides.  They  tell  me  that  the  height  at 
which  we  have  built,  and  the  intervening  foothills, 
would  make  us  quite  safe  hi  case  of  a  new  eruption ; 
but  I  am  inclined  to  pray  for  peace  in  our  time,  all  the 
same.  As  we  go  across  the  plain  towards  Iriyama  Toge, 
the  layers  of  scoria  are  clearly  shown  in  the  cuttings 
made  here  and  there  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  find  an 
arable  surface.  For  all  time  the  lovely  plain  can  be 
nothing  but  the  mountain's  outer  court,  as  it  were, 
Asama's  garden,  rich  in  wild  flowers  and  in  nothing 
else. 

Through  these  we  went,  knee  deep  in  "aster  and 
in  golden-rod,"  across  the  plain,  to  where  our  horizon- 
line  rises  in  grassy  slopes  that  look  as  if  they  had  been 
shaped  and  smoothed  by  a  gentle  hand ;  but  here  and 
there  a  stern  rock  stands  out,  like  an  ascetic  in  the 
world,  protesting  against  the  ease  and  softness  with 
which  he  sees  himself  surrounded.  One  of  these  rocks, 
high  up  near  the  crest  of  the  hills,  stands  out  huge 
and  four  square  in  natural  granite,  with  a  place  for  the 
preacher  in  the  centre ;  and  this  the  foreigners  have 
called  Pulpit  Rock.  But  we  pass  round  its  base  and 
over  another  crest;  and  then  we  are  on  the  ridge  of 
the  Wami  Toge,  and  can  look  down  over  the  weird 
and  beautiful  valley  of  rocks,  through  which  a  deep-cut 
path  winds  off  towards  Takasaki  and  the  distant  plain. 
The  surprise  of  this  sight  is  perhaps  its  especial  charac- 
teristic :  at  one  moment  you  are  strolling  leisurely,  after 
something  of  a  climb,  up  a  slope  which  seems  to  end  in 
a  grassy  ridge  a  few  yards  farther  on ;  you  have  left 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


295 


great  rocks  and  hills  be- 
hind, the  turf  is  soft  under 
your  feet,  and  you  say  to 
yourself,  "We  will  just 
rest  a  little  on  the  knoll, 
and  then  we  will  be  get- 
ting home  ;  for  there  is  no 
more  to  see  now.  This  is 
like  the  Asama  foothills." 
And  in  a  minute  you 
stand  on  the  green  ridge, 
and  a  new  and  magic 
world  —  a  world  of  bower 
and  castle,  keep  and  but- 
tress, soaring  minster  and 
deep-cut  fosse  —  lies  spread 
beneath  your  astonished 
eyes.  King  Arthur's  Court 
might  come  riding  out  in 
golden  array  from  that 
grey  portcullis ;  King  Ar- 
thur's Queen  might  lean 
over  that  skyey  parapet, 
waiting  for  one  upward 
glance  from  her  hero-traitor 
knight.  What  deeps  are 
in  that  ravine,  where  some 
laidly  worm  might  coil 
its  dragon  scales !  What 
heights  in  those  distant 


CROWS    IN   JAPAN 


296  LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN 

spires,  melting  in  golden  haze,  where  a  wandering  King 
might  dream  the  hours  away  with  Morgan  Le  Fay  and 
her  airy  sisterhood !  The  turf  creeps  in  green  velvet 
folds  to  the  castle's  foot ;  the  drawbridge  lies  for  ever 
across  the  empty  moat ;  the  sunset  floods  with  squan- 
dered gold  the  unpeopled  bastions  of  the  fort ;  only 
the  wood-pigeons  whirl  round  the  eaves  of  the  Queen's 
high  bower ;  no  step  or  cry  is  heard,  save  that  of  a 
poor  man  in  blue  coat  and  straw  sandals  who  urges 
a  heavily  laden  pack-horse  up  the  dark  road  which 
winds,  so  deep-cut  that  we  can  hardly  see  it,  round 
the  castle's  base.  We  are  in  the  heart  of  the  central 
mountains  of  Japan;  the  great  castle  is  a  nameless 
rock ;  King  Arthur's  fortress  a  bit  of  nature's  forgot- 
ten play ;  and  I,  a  dreamer,  who  sit  here  for  hours, 
weaving  the  worlds  together  in  my  dreams,  East  with 
West,  Past  with  Present,  Legend  with  Truth,  till  my 
comrades  gather  round  me,  telling  strange  stories  of 
hair-breadth  climbs  among  the  rocks,  calling  high  and 
long  for  two  who  seem  to  have  lost  themselves  in  the 
labyrinths  of  this  granite  city.  At  last  we  see  them 
far  down,  looking  weirdly  small,  waving  their  hands  to 
us  from  a  point  which  they  have  scaled.  They  are 
two  who  often  get  lost  in  company ;  so  we  turn,  smil- 
ing, and  leave  them  to  linger  as  they  like,  while  we 
make  our  way  home  across  the  plain,  clinging  to  the 
skirts  of  the  daylight  as  they  sweep  all  too  swiftly 
from  us.  Sweet  is  the  slow  walk  home  across  the 
evening  fields;  the  grass  is  all  in  twilight  at  the  root, 
but  the  last  light  lingers  softly  on  the  billowy  surface, 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  297 

where  pale-purple  asters,  and  white  stars  of  Bethlehem 
float  as  on  a  cloud.  Hundreds  of  sunset  lilies  are  turn- 
ing their  pale-gold  faces  to  the  west,  as  a  signal  that 
day  is  done.  In  the  hot  hours  they  sleep,  and  as  we 
passed  at  noon  every  cup  was  closed  hi  the  sunshine ; 


THE    RUNNING    POSTMAN 


but  now  that  the  twilight  cools  the  air,  they  open 
wide,  and  stand  in  starry  multitudes  along  the  plain  ; 
behind  them  the  misty  mountains  and  the  hushed  em- 
purpled sky ;  at  their  feet  a  tangle  of  low  grasses 
steeped  in  dew ;  and  "  God's  peace  over  all,  my  dear, 
God's  peace  over  all." 

Far  away,  where  the  plain  turns  sharply  to  the 
south,  stands  a  little  town  called  Komoro  —  a  town  of 
eager  industries  and  uninteresting  surroundings,  far  less 


298  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

picturesque  than  our  shabby  village  where  every  house 
is  decaying,  every  screen  is  torn,  where  the  children 
and  the  cats  scatter  into  wretched-looking  homes  as  we 
and  the  dogs  pass  by.  Poor  old  Karuizawa  was  a 
grand  place  once,  a  stage  on  the  long  Nakasendo  road, 
where  ever}7  Daimyo  must  pass  on  his  way  from  Kyoto 
to  Yedo.  Now  only  mountain  pilgrims  and  crazy  for- 
eigners like  ourselves  ever  go  near  it ;  the  railway  has 
turned  two  miles  aside,  and  the  place  has  become  so 
poor  that  it  has  not  even  a  public  bath !  Since  our 
coming  this  year  our  butcher,  our  rice-dealer,  and  our 
own  laundry  man  have  all  set  up  their  signs  in  the 
village,  proclaiming  that  they  are  specially  appointed  to 
attend  the  British  Legation.  The  place  is  a  favourite 
one  with  the  populous  Canadian  missionaries ;  and  I 
hope  their  patronage,  combined  with  our  own  and  that 
of  our  friends,  will  bring  a  little  prosperity  back  to  the 
town.  But  Komoro  is  quite  a  different  thing;  it  lies 
right  on  the  line  of  railway,  has  good  inns,  and  thrives 
on  making  saddles,  tools,  and  carts  for  the  whole 
province. 

When  we  went  to  Komoro  the  other  day,  it  was 
not  to  stay  there,  but  to  make  an  expedition  to  a 
strange  Buddhist  convent  far  back  in  the  hills  that 
overhang  a  river,  whose  name,  I  am  ashamed  to  say, 
I  have  forgotten  to  ask.  The  road,  after  leaving 
Komoro,  goes  for  some  way  between  rice-fields,  over 
the  very  hottest  country  I  have  yet  traversed  in 
Japan.  The  fields  are  separated  by  little  dykes  just 
wide  enough  to  walk  on ;  and  these  are  intersected 


LETTERS   FKOM   JAPAN  290 

again  and  again  by  temporary  canals  of  the  most 
minute  kind,  patted  into  being  with  the  back  of  a 
spade  so  as  to  conduct  the  water  from  one  level  down 
to  the  next,  and  so  on.  For  all  rice-fields  must  be  laid 
out  in  terraces,  so  that  as  soon  as  the  water  has  thor- 
oughly overflowed  one  field  it  may  drop  a  foot  or  so  to 
do  its  work  in  the  next,  and  so  on  through  field  after 
field  till  every  plant  is  fed.  Between  the  fields  the 
dykes  are  green  now,  and  here  and  there  a  lonely 
blood-red  lily  waves  like  a  signal  in  the  air.  The 
colour  is  an  intense  scarlet,  and  partakes  in  some  way 
of  the  nature  of  flame,  since  it  can  be  seen  at  distances 
where  all  other  tints,  including  white,  would  pass  unno- 
ticed. I  had  brought  my  chair,  and  was,  as  usual, 
far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  who  had  chosen 
to  walk  —  a  great  mistake  on  such  a  burning  day. 
Soon  my  men  turned  from  the  dusty  road  between 
the  evil-smelling  rice-fields  (alas !  agriculture,  to  be  suc- 
cessful here,  must  —  excuse  the  word  —  stink),  and  took 
to  a  path  which,  after  crossing  a  fairly  full  river,  pene- 
trated into  a  rocky  range  of  hills  on  its  northern  side. 
How  welcome  was  the  shade  and  coolness  of  the  groves ! 
I  think  the  men  walked  faster  than  they  do  on  cooler 
days;  and  while  my  companions  were  still  struggling 
up  the  sides  of  the  slope,  we  were  racing  along  the 
crest  of  the  ridge,  all  our  troubles  over.  It  was  just 
midday  when  the  path  dropped  again,  in  the  direction 
of  the  river's  noise  (the  stream  itself  was  invisible),  and 
the  dull-red  gate  of  some  sacred  building  showed  at  the 
end  of  a  short  alley  thick-set  with  oak  trees.  A  still 


300  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

farther  descent,  and  we  were  inside  a  grey  stone  court, 
with  very  old  buildings  round  three  sides  of  it,  while 
in  front  a  terrace  spread  between  two  walls  of  rock 
which  rose  straight  on  either  side.  The  place  was  set 
in  a  very  cleft  of  the  rock,  like  a  sea-swallow's  nest.  No 
sun  came  here,  although  above  and  behind  us  high  noon 
lay  on  the  land.  Before  us  the  rocky  walls  ran  a  long 
way  out,  and  between  them,  far  away,  bathed  in  noon- 
tide glory,  the  country  beyond  the  river  seemed  to  swim 
in  the  blazing  heat. 

I  have  at  home  a  picture  of  the  gentle  lady  Murasaki 
Shikibu,  who  eight  hundred  years  ago  retired  to  just 
such  a  spot  as  this  to  meditate  on  the  romance  which, 
by  command  of  the  Empress,  she  was  to  write.  It  was 
in  August,  by  the  light  of  the  full  moon,  that  she  sat 
all  night  on  the  balcony  of  a  temple  between  the  rocks, 
far  uplifted  from  earth,  and  gazing  down  on  Lake  Biwa 
as  we  here  gaze  on  the  distant  river.  If  her  temple  was 
like  this  one,  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  power  of  inspiration 
which,  overflowing  her  mind,  caused  her  to  write  the 
chief  incidents  of  her  story  on  the  back  of  a  roll  of  Bud- 
dhist Scriptures,  till  all  the  space  was  covered.  Next 
day,  when  the  sacred  frenzy  was  over,  she  discovered 
what  she  had  done,  and  in  time  copied  out  the  whole 
book  anew  to  make  reparation. 

Here,  in  the  rocky  monastery  of  Komoro,  all  was 
still,  and  the  light  was  not  light,  but  clarified  shadow, 
an  even  dusk,  in  which  all  objects  were  perfectly  to  be 
apprehended,  but  none  smote  the  weary  eyeballs  more 
strongly  than  another.  I  cannot  give  you  the  sense  of 


LETTERS    FltnM   JAPAN 


301 


remoteness,  of  isolation,  of  tempered  peace  which  the 
atmosphere  inspired.  Coming  from  the  sun-stricken 
world  outside,  it  was  like  turning  from  some  wild  pas- 
sion of  love,  that  scorches  and  kills,  to  the  impersonal 
tenderness  of  a  mother-heart,  to  pre-natal  dawns  ere 
individual  suffering 
had  stamped  the 
soul  with  the  indi- 
vidual immortality 
which  it  must  carry, 
for  better,  for  worse, 
through  eternity. 
Peace  was  in  the 
brown  earth,  where 
the  dust  fell  softly 
from  one's  feet,  as 
if  knowing  how 
tired  they  were ; 
peace  in  the  hermit 
trees,  which  had 
chosen  to  grow  in 
small  hard  clefts, 
far  above  the  noises 
of  river  and  plain ; 
peace  on  the  grey-faced  rock,  and  all  along  the  patient 
steps  and  ledges  by  which  a  path  had  been  wrested, 
inch  by  inch,  from  the  butting  crag,  so  sharp  in  its 
dizzy  drop  to  the  river's  bed  that  the  eye  hardly  dared 
to  follow  where  a  brown-winged  falcon,  whirring  out 
from  its  eyrie,  fell  like  a  falling  stone  on  its  unseen 


A    BROWX-WIXGED    FALCON 


302  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

quarry  below ;  and  peace,  in  armfuls,  heartf uls,  where 
at  last,  after  passing  by  bell  and  shrine,  by  gateways 
cut  in  the  edge  of  the  cliff  against  an  empty  sky,  by 
narrow  steps  round  the  brinks  of  chasms  that  sank  out 
of  sight  in  the  darkness,  the  path  came  out  on  the  bare 
crag's  top  against  a  rock  that  shadowed  it  still,  and 
watched,  like  a  sentinel,  over  —  a  dying  man. 

Lying  on  the  scant  grass,  his  face  to  the  sky,  his 
limbs  doubled  under  him,  was  a  poor  Japanese,  a  man 
of  about  eight-and-twenty,  dressed  in  thin  cotton,  and 
gazing  out  with  eyes  where  suffering  was  not  yet  sub- 
dued in  unconsciousness.  He  groaned  pitifully,  but 
shook  his  head  in  refusal  of  the  help  that  all  were 
longing  to  give.  The  bonze,  who  was  acting  as  guide, 
explained.  The  man  was  doing  a  voluntary  penance, 
fulfilling  a  vow.  Eight  days  and  nights  he  had  passed 
here,  without  touching  food  or  drink.  He  had  still 
two  days  more  to  suffer,  but  would  probably  die  first. 
It  was  his  own  wish  ;  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  ; 
it  was  better  to  leave  him  —  in  peace. 

And  surely  you  are  at  peace  now,  poor  brave  martyr 
to  the  only  good  you  knew  ?  God  is  not  one  who  will 
reproach  you  for  giving  more  than  He  asked. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

DEATH  OF  FATHER  TESTEVUIDE.  —  HOLY  POVERTY.  —  UNSUS- 
PECTED PHILANTHROPISTS. — THE  LEPER  HOSPITAL  AGAIN. 
—  A  LEPER'S  DEATH.  —  MERE  SAINTE-MATHILDE 

August,  1891. 

T71ATHER   TESTEVUIDE  is  dead.      Father  Vigroux 

takes  his  place. 

Such  is  our  news  from  Tokyo ;  and  ever  since  it 
came,  somewhat  late,  to  our  solitudes,  I  have  been 
thinking  very  sorrowfully  of  the  little  Hospital  in  the 
hills,  where  profound  grief  will  be  felt  for  the  loss  of 
the  dear  missionary  who  has  been  father  and  mother 
to  the  poor  sick  people  there.  Thank  God,  I  cannot 
help  saying  —  thank  God  that  he  went  before  the  dis- 
ease had  fastened  on  him  !  His  death  was  for  his  peo- 
ple, nevertheless.  For  months  at  a  time,  when  funds 
were  low,  he  used  to  starve  himself,  in  order  to  spend 
on  his  sick  the  money  which  should  have  gone  for  his 
own  food.  Besides  the  lepers,  he  had  many  poor,  and 
was  sometimes  the  only  priest  in  a  very  wide  district ; 
so  that  the  hardest  work  constantly  fell  to  his  share 
-  as,  indeed,  it  does  fall  to  all  our  priests  here,  where 
the  demand  far  exceeds  the  supply. 

303 


304  LETTEES  FROM   JAPAN 

Do  you  know  what  our  priests  have  to  live  on  in 
Japan  ?  Fifteen  yen  (thirty  shillings)  a  month.  Out 
of  this  they  must  pay  house  rent  if  there  is  no  dwell- 
ing-house attached  to  the  chapel,  food,  clothing,  the 
expenses  of  getting  from  one  part  of  their  parish  to 
another,  and  (do  not  laugh)  their  charities !  I  cannot 
make  out  that  any  one  of  them  has  any  private  in- 
come ;  if  they  had,  it  has  all  been  given  pour  les 
ceuvres,  and  thirty  shillings  a  month  is  what  they 
receive  —  and  live,  or  die,  upon ! 

"  Why  —  why  ?  "  I  cried  in  indignation,  when  I  first 
learnt  all  this.  Because  there  is  no  more  to  give ;  the 
Church  is  in  the  straits  of  holy  poverty.  The  class 
who,  especially  in  France,  used  to  contribute  so  gener- 
ously to  mission  work  has  been  obliged  to  devote 
those  moneys  to  voluntary  schools  since  the  name  of 
God  has  been  eradicated  from  all  the  public  ones ;  and 
missionary  work  would  be  paralysed  if  the  priests  could 
not  live  —  like  paupers :  dear,  kind,  clean,  holy  paupers, 
but  just  that.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  sum 
spent  by  different  sects  of  Protestants  in  Japan  equals 
that  which  the  Holy  Father  has  at  his  disposal  for 
mission  work  throughout  the  world.  I  do  not  know 
how  true  this  may  be  ;  but,  watching  the  two  systems 
at  work,  close  beside  me,  I  have  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  in  these  matters  money  is  of  secondary  value, 
of  next  to  no  value,  as  compared  with  prayer,  self- 
sacrifice,  and  the  Heaven-taught  discipline  of  a  holy 
life.  It  is  impossible  for  the  most  hardened  scoffer  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  one  of  our  priests  or  sisters 


LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAX 


305 


of  charity  here  without  feeling  that  he  is  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  power  for  good.  As  I  heard  one  man  say, 
"  Well,  people  don't  do  this 
kind  of  thing  to  amuse  them- 
selves !  Ton  my  soul,  the 
poor  chaps  deserve  to  suc- 
ceed ! " 

And  here  let  me  render 
a  tribute  to  the  scoffer,  as 
I  have  known  him  in  the 
East,  the  British  or  foreign 
bachelor,  popularly  supposed 
to  be  so  immersed  in  his  own 
comforts  and  pleasures,  in 
his  club  and  his  whist  and  his 
billiards  and  —  other  things, 
that  it  would  be  in  vain  to 
turn  to  him  for  assistance 
where  the  poor  are  concerned. 
Well,  after  a  long  experience 
of  charitable  wrork,  I  must 
say  that  the  jolly  foreign 
bachelor  is  the  only  crea- 
ture (barring  the  Empress 
of  Japan  and  some  ladies  of 
her  Court)  to  whom  I  have 
never  once  turned  in  vain. 
Generally  a  hopeless  pagan 
himself,  and  often  living  on  very  small  pay,  the 
moment  one  speaks  of  orphans  or  lepers  or  earth- 


A    BLIND    MASSEUR 


306  LETTEKS   FEOM  JAPAN 

quake  victims,  his  hand  goes  into  his  pocket,  and  out 
comes  all  (and  sometimes  a  good  deal  more  than  all) 
he  can  possibly  aiford.  Never  was  there  a  more  kind- 
hearted  and  generous  creature ;  and  many  a  time,  where 
I  had  asked  for  a  real  necessity  with  regret  and  hesi- 
tation, the  regret  and  hesitation  have  been  transferred 
to  the  acceptance  of  a  sum  which  must  have  made  a 
large  difference  in  the  giver's  banking  account.  Once 
the  dear  Tsukiji  nuns  had  their  house  so  full  of  sick  and 
poor  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  start  an  infirm- 
ary at  once,  and  a  relatively  large  sum  was  wanted  to 
do  it.  "We  had  a  charity  ball,  or  something  of  the  kind, 
coming  off  for  another  object,  and  I  could  not  compro- 
mise its  success  by  appealing  to  my  usual  public  for 
this  new  need.  Five  gentlemen,  quite  unsuspected  by 
the  world  of  philanthropic  tendencies,  made  up  the  sum 
for  us  between  them,  and  the  infirmary  has  been  full 
from  that  day  to  this ;  numberless  cures,  baptisms,  and 
conversions  have  taken  place  there,  which  must  surely, 
in  great  part,  be  put  down  to  the  credit  of  my  five 
friends.  And  the  kindness  of  the  bachelor  to  the  little 
children  and  the  sick !  The  toys  and  cakes  smuggled 
down  to  the  nuns  for  the  little  ones,  the  sums  of  money 
sent  "just  to  give  the  poor  little  beggars  a  bit  of  a 
treat,"  the  touching  way  in  which  my  beloved  soeur 
Sainte-Domitille  will  say,  when  everything  else  has 
failed,  "  Eh  bien,  il  faudra  ecrire  a  Monsieur  un  tel," 
with  the  certainty  of  not  being  refused !  It  is  all  very 
instructive,  and  makes  one  think  even  better  of  human 
nature  than  one  did  before. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  30? 

And  now,  as  I  was  saying,  dear  Pere  Testevuide 
has  gone  home,  after  very  great  suffering.  He  had 
been  sent  away  to  a  little  Sanatorium  which  the  mis- 
sionaries have  in  Hong  Kong,  in  the  hope  that  the 
change  of  air  would  restore  his  strength.  The  attempt 
only  succeeded,  as  the  Archbishop  says  in  his  letter,  in 
laying  another  cross  on  his  kind  heart  —  that  of  dying 
away  from  his  own  chere  mission. 

His  place  has,  of  course,  been  filled  at  once,  by 
a  Father  whom  I  have  known  well  in  Tokyo,  Pere 
Vigroux,  who  is  the  Apostolic  Pro-vicar,  and  whose 
hands  have  always  been  as  full  as  they  could  hold  of 
work.  It  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  drop  his  other 
tasks  at  once ;  but  God  only  knows  how  he  is  going  to 
accomplish  them  and  look  after  the  lepers  as  well.  The 
Archbishop  wrote  to  him,  asking  him  to  undertake  the 
Gotemba  business,  and  he  accepted  promptly.  But 
Gotemba  is  just  now  a  problem  of  a  very  anxious  kind. 
There  is  next  to  no  money  to  keep  it  going ;  there 
are  thirty  in-patients  there,  and  others  are  asking  for 
admission  all  the  time ;  poor  creatures  to  whom  the 
treatment  would  be  of  inestimable  benefit,  whether  as 
arresting  the  still  curable  symptoms  of  the  disease,  or 
as  palliating  and  softening  the  horrible  sufferings  of 
its  more  advanced  stages.  But  how  can  they  be  re- 
ceived if  there  is  no  money  to  pay  for  their  medicines 
or  their  food?  The  original  Hospital,  built  with  such 
pathetic  economy  by  Pere  Testevuide,  was  already  far 
too  small  for  those  whom  he  received ;  and  before  his 
death  he  managed  to  throw  two  wings  out  from  the 


308  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

main  building,  and  with  these  it  could  now  accommo- 
date eighty  patients.  But  the  founder  just  managed  to 
feed  thirty  by  going  about  and  begging  food  for  them 
himself.  He  knew  the  district,  and  was  greatly  beloved  ; 
and  yet  he  could  never  quite  carry  out  the  desires  of 
his  heart.  No  wonder  that  good  Pere  Vigroux  felt, 
even  while  undertaking  it,  that  it  was  an  enormous  task. 

"Votre  grandeur,"  he  writes  to  Monseigneur  Osouf, 
"veut  bien  me  confier  la  direction  de  1'hopital  des  lepreux 
.  .  .  j'en  remercie  Dieu,  et  si  j'ai  lieu  de  craindre  de 
n'etre  pas  a  la  hauteur  de  la  tache,  je  ne  1'accepte  pas 
moins  avec  la  plus  grande  confiance." 

He  then  goes  on  to  give  a  short  report  of  the  work ; 
and  any  one  who  reads  it  must,  I  think,  feel  as  I  do, 
that  of  all  works  of  charity  this  is  perhaps  the  one  where 
the  good  done  is  most  direct,  the  need  most  pressing. 
The  new  director's  first  grief  was  that  of  being  unable 
to  receive  all  the  patients  who  had  implored  to  be  ad- 
mitted. However,  he  took  ten  of  the  most  suffering, 
and  hopes  soon  to  collect  funds  to  allow  of  his  under- 
taking a  few  more.  His  description  of  his  new  parish- 
ioners is  too  sad  and  terrible  to  be  repeated.  He  says 
that  the  forms  of  the  disease  are  varied,  and  most  awful ; 
but  that  at  any  rate  the  poor  patients  know  that  hence- 
forth they  will  never  be  abandoned  to  their  fate ;  that 
shelter  and  food  and  clothing,  medicines  for  their  sick 
bodies  and  kindness  to  cheer  their  sad  hearts,  will  never 
be  wanting.  Eleven  of  the  number  are  Christians ;  and 
he  says  that  although  all  are  resigned  and  patient  —  no 
Japanese  is  otherwise,  even  in  great  suffering  —  these 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  309 

are  positively  happy.  The  certainty  that  if  they  bear 
their  misfortunes  patiently  they  will  enter  into  happi- 
ness supreme  and  undying  when  this  short  life  is  over 
makes  them  perfectly  serene  and  even  gay.  More  than 
one  seems  even  thankful  for  the  misfortune  of  a  sick- 
ness to  his  body  which  has  brought  his  far  more  sick 
soul  to  the  Great  Physician.  And  these,  little  by  little, 
will  convert  the  others,  who  seem  ready  even  now,  in 
their  poverty  and  suffering,  to  accept  and  cling  lov- 
ingly to  the  merciful  faith  which  would  perhaps  have 
appealed  to  them  in  vain  in  health  and  prosperity. 

It  has  been  found  impossible  to  keep  one  patient 
on  less  than  ten  pounds  a  year;  and  the  good  Father 
beseeches  charitable  persons  to  contemplate  the  possi- 
bility of  endowing  a  bed.  From  time  to  time  charitable 
entertainments  are  given  at  Tokyo  especially  for  the 
Hospital ;  but  a  few  regular  subscriptions  help  more 
than  spasmodic  giving,  and,  alas !  the  want  is  very 
great.  From  reasons  which  I  think  I  told  you  before, 
scarcely  any  provision  is  made  for  lepers  here ;  and 
every  now  and  then  some  tragedy  occurs  which  just 
tears  at  one's  heart-strings  for  pity. 

I  must  tell  you  a  story ;  please  forgive  the  horror 
of  the  beginning,  for  the  sake  of  the  end.  A  month 
ago,  up  here  in  the  hills,  where  of  course  our  papers 
come  a  day  late,  I  was  horrified  to  read  in  the  Mail 
an  account  of  a  poor  leper  who  had  been  found  (and 
left)  dying  by  the  roadside  in  a  suburb  of  Yokohama. 
The  indignant  Britisher  who  wrote  said  that  in  the 
course  of  a  walk  his  attention  was  attracted  by  the 


310  LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN 

cries  of  some  one  in  great  pain.  Coming  near  the  spot, 
he  found,  to  his  horror,  that  a  crowd  of  Japanese  boys 
were  pelting  with  stones  a  poor  creature  who  was  roll- 
ing on  the  ground,  naked,  in  agony,  in  the  very  last 
stages  of  leprosy.  The  Englishman,  I  am  sure,  dis- 
persed the  boys,  and  probably  gave  the  poor  wretch 
some  money,  but  in  his  letter  mentioned  nothing  but 
the  pitiable  condition  of  the  man,  which  he  described  as 
such  that  it  required  the  greatest  courage  to  come  near 
him.  Of  course  one  would  have  given  worlds  to  help ; 
but  Yokohama  is  far  indeed  from  Karuizawa,  it  was 
already  evening,  and  all  that  night  I  was  made  misera- 
ble by  the  thought  of  the  leper's  suffering,  which  I  could 
do  nothing  to  alleviate.  In  the  morning  the  thought 
came  to  me  to  write  to  the  nuns  of  the  Convent  in 
Yokohama,  and  get  them  to  look  into  the  case ;  there 
would  be  no  need  to  ask  them  to  help,  when  once  they 
knew  of  it.  The  answer  came  on  the  next  day  but  one 
from  the  Superior,  Mere  Sainte-Mathilde ;  she  is  over 
seventy,  and  has  more  than  fifty  years  of  "  vocation " 
behind  her.  I  must  give  you  her  letter  just  as  it  came, 
except  that  I  translate  it  into  English : 

"DEAR  MRS.  ERASER,  —  I  have  heard  it  said  that 
souls  speak  to  one  another ;  and,  indeed,  I  believe  it.' 
Last  night  I  saw  you  come  to  me  with  such  ardour,  such 
precipitation,  that  it  woke  me  several  times  from  my 
sleep;  my  mind  was  full  of  you  this  morning,  when 
your  letter  was  put  into  my  hands.  Be  comforted.  He 
for  whom  to-morrow  is  as  to-day,  and  who  sees  the 
desires  of  our  hearts,  accomplished  yours  for  the  un- 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAX  311 

fortunate  leper  before  you  had  formed  it.  The  leper 
was  baptised  by  one  of  our  Sisters,  and  died  soon  after 
in  perfect  peace,  and  with  the  most  lively  gratitude  for 
the  grace  he  had  received.  .  .  .  The  poor  man  was  dis- 
covered by  a  charitable  gentleman,  who  at  once  went 
home,  procured  a  carpenter,  and  with  him  brought  nails 
and  wood  to  build  a  kind  of  shed  over  the  poor  crea- 
ture, whom  it  was  quite  impossible  to  move.  He  gave 
him  wine  and  food,  and  then  hastened  to  call  us  to  see 
if  it  were  still  possible  to  instruct  and  baptise  this  dying 
man,  who  was  literally  at  the  last  gasp.  The  Sister  sat 
beside  him  for  three  hours  before  she  could  make  him 
grasp  the  necessary  truths.  He  became  unconscious  again 
and  again,  and  even  when  conscious  would  not  listen, 
appeared  not  to  hear  what  she  was  saying.  At  last  she 
sent  the  jinriksha  coolie  back  to  the  Convent  to  ask  for 
some  water  of  Lourdes,  and  prevailed  upon  the  sick 
man  to  swallow  a  few  drops.  The  moment  he  had  done 
so  a  change  came  over  him,  and  he  gave  the  most  rapt 
attention  to  all  that  she  was  saying.  Whereas  before  not 
a  word  had  gone  to  his  heart,  now,  by  the  protection 
of  our  Blessed  Mother,  light  flooded  his  soul,  and  he 
eagerly  asked  for  the  baptism  which  would  open  for  him 
the  gates  of  eternal  peace  and  joy.  His  gratitude  was 
touching,  and  he  did  all  that  he  could  to  express  it." 

As  I  read  her  letter  some  old  lines  that  a  friend  used 
to  repeat  came  back  to  me : 

"  0  power  to  do,  O  baffled  will, 
0  prayer  and  action,  ye  are  one, 
***** 
And  good  but  wished  with  God  is  done." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

THE      DEFINITION      OF      A      SAMURAI.  —  SAMURAI      MEN      AND 
WOMEN.  —  SAMURAI   IDEALS.  —  THE    BED    CROSS    SOCIETY. 
—  S WORD-DAMASCENING.  —  CLAN   GOVERNMENT.  —  SAYON- 
ARA,   TOKl! 

TOKYO,  October,  1891. 

U  have,  I  fear,  a  right  to  be  puzzled  at  my  appar- 
ently  indiscriminate  use  of  the  title  of  samurai. 
You  say  that  I  describe  a  prince,  an  interpreter,  and  a 
waiting-maid  all  by  the  same  terra,  and  that  such  care- 
lessness is  misleading.  But  it  is  not  carelessness,  and 
the  appellation  is  appropriate  to  them  all ;  so  it  is  not 
misleading.  It  simply  applies  to  the  whole  of  the  class 
who  had  a  right  to  carry  arms,  and  their  descendants ; 
and  it  is  the  fault  of  Japanese  ideals  if  it  has  come  to 
express  everything  that  is  heroic  and  dignified  and  hon- 
ourable. The  first  samurai,  recognised  as  such,  were 
the  descendants  of  the  fighting  men  of  Yoritomo,  the 
first  of  the  Shoguns  (1186-1199).  He  had  found  it 
necessary  to  put  the  provinces  under  a  kind  of  military 
prefecture,  each  commander  having  a  large  body  of 
troops  at  his  disposal.  As  time  went  on,  the  soldiers 
came  to  consider  themselves  immeasurably  superior  to 
the  peaceful  part  of  the  population,  and  lyeyasir,  who 
loved  fighters,  increased  their  privileges,  and  laid  down 

312 


LETTERS    FKo.M    JAPAN  313 

laws  which  made  them  everywhere  feared  and  respected. 
They  were  as  a  rule  clansmen  of  great  chiefs,  and  in 
more  ways  than  one  resembled  their  prototypes  in  the 
Highlands  at  home.  Very  few  possessed  property,  but 
all  were  entitled  to  rations  of  food  from  the  lord  whom 
they  served;  they  lived  in  a  kind  of  barracks  round 
his  house ;  they  never  married  out  of  their  class,  and 
the  noble  ladies  had  as  a  rule  only  samurai  women  and 
girls  to  wait  on  them.  Some  were  ronins  (chiefless  men), 
who  had  lost  their  lord,  and  wandered  through  the  coun- 
try at  will.  Those  who  had  a  chief  were  bound  to 
attend  him  on  all  State  occasions,  fight  his  battles,  and 
revenge  his  wrongs.  They  were  reckless,  idle,  overbear- 
ing, and  constituted  a  dangerous  class  in  the  country ; 
but  all  agree  in  admitting  that,  owing  to  the  dignified 
retirement  into  which  the  great  nobles  mostly  withdrew 
after  the  reconstitution  of  the  empire,  and  to  the  want 
of  enterprise  and  the  intense  conservatism  of  the  lower 
classes,  it  is  to  the  samurai  that  the  great  advance  of 
Japan  in  our  day  must  be  ascribed.  Almost  all  the  dis- 
tinguished men  of  modern  Japan,  the  thinkers,  the  edu- 
cators, the  pioneers,  have  been  drawn  from  their  ranks ; 
they  were  the  first  to  make  their  own  the  modes  of 
thought,  the  education,  of  foreign  countries;  and  while 
worshipping  the  sword  as  the  god  of  samurai  honour, 
they  have  not  disdained  the  means  by  which  other 
nations  have  reached  greatness.  Agriculture  was  always 
considered  by  them  as  a  gentleman's  occupation,  and 
no  samurai  lost  caste  by  entering  the  service  of  a  nobly 
born  master.  He  could  not  enter  the  service  of  any  one 


314  LETTEES  FROM  JAPAN 

who  was  not  a  noble,  and  he  could  not  engage  in  trade 
or  become  an  artisan.  The  people  were  divided  into 
four  classes  —  samurai,  farmers,  merchants,  and  artisans, 
lyeyasu  constituted  the  samurai  the  masters  of  the  other 
classes,  and  enacted  regulations  by  which  the  mastership 
was  made  a  reality. 

A  samurai  was  supposed  to  have  but  one  law,  that 
of  honour ;  loyalty  to  his  lord  came  first  of  all,  and  on 
that  altar  even  father  and  mother  must  be  sacrificed. 
Wife  and  child  were  hardly  counted ;  being  a  part  of 
himself,  their  service  must  be  as  complete  as  his.  No 
samurai  could  take  joy  in  life  while  an  insult  to  his 
chief  remained  unavenged;  and  he  often  refused  to  sur- 
vive his  master.  That  master  himself  could  have  no 
higher  code  of  honour  than  a  simple  samurai,  and  the 
name  gradually  became  applied  in  the  sense  in  which 
we  use  "  gentleman."  The  duty  of  a  samurai,  the  hon- 
our or  the  valour  of  a  samurai,  are  current  expressions ; 
an  action  not  worthy  of  a  samurai  means  something 
base  and  churlish.  There  were  many  degrees  among 
the  different  members  of  the  class  as  far  as  social  status 
was  concerned  —  some  being  heads  of  families,  and  hav- 
ing retainers  of  their  own ;  some  merely  private  soldiers 
as  it  were,  with  no  property  beyond  the  precious  sword : 
but, -as  I  have  said,  the  principles  of  honour  were  the 
same  for  all ;  and  the  samurai  were  the  framers  of  the 
extraordinarily  elaborate  and  punctilious  code  of  Jap- 
anese honour,  by  the  side  of  which  the  maxims  of 
European  mediaeval  chivalry  seem  rough  and  rude.  A 
terrible  blow  was  dealt  to  the  class  when  the  Daimyos 


LETTEES   FROM  JAPAN  315 

laid  down  their  power,  when  the  samurai  were  dis- 
banded, and  the  whole  intricate  and  ancient  edifice  of 
Japanese  feudalism  crashed  down  at  the  Emperor's  feet. 
But  the  race  was  too  good  to  perish ;  translating  its 
ancient  code  of  honour  into  a  more  modern  tongue,  it 
rallied  round  the  throne,  and  has  done  so  much  for 
progress  and  good  administration  (in  spite  of  such  acci- 
dents as  the  soshi  or  the  fanatics)  that  I  think  I  am 
right  in  calling  the  Japan  of  to-day,  with  its  working 
Parliament,  its  growing  press,  its  army  and  navy,  its 
just  codes  and  admirable  schools,  its  vigorous  loyalty 
and  its  real  good  sense,  the  Japan  of  the  samurai. 

In  no  country  in  the  world  more  than  in  Japan  does 
the  woman  faithfully  reflect  the  opinions  and  codes  of 
the  man  of  her  own  class ;  and  the  samurai  woman  is 
as  brave,  as  self-controlled,  as  calmly  self-sacrificing  as 
her  father  or  her  husband.  As  far  as  self-sacrifice  goes, 
she  has  more  to  give.  His  honour  will  always  remain 
to  him ;  hers  may  be  asked  for,  and  must  not  then  be 
withheld.  The  samurai s  wife  must  be  chaste  as  Lu- 
crece,  faithful  as  Penelope ;  but  she  has  deliberately 
sacrificed  herself,  again  and  again  in  Japanese  history, 
for  the  good  of  her  family  or  her  husband's  lord.  More 
than  one  story  have  I  heard  of  a  samurai  wife  selling 
her  liberty  away  for  years  to  procure  the  price  of  weap- 
ons and  armour  where  these  were  needed  to  vindicate 
the  family  honour.  Such  a  woman,  on  her  return  from 
bondage,  would  not  have  been  regarded  as  a  fallen  thing ; 
on  the  contrary,  all  honour  and  gratitude  would  be  hers 
for  what  would  be  considered  an  act  of  unmixed  heroism. 


316  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

Had  she  been  asked  to  sell  her  soul  for  an  honourable 
object,  it  would  have  been  considered  base  in  her  to 
withhold  it. 

But  dishonour  as  dishonour  would  only  be  wiped  out 
with  death,  and  the  samurai  women  knew  from  child- 
hood the  use  of  the  fine  short  sword  whose  baptism  of 
blood  could  wash  away  any  disgrace.  They  were  trained 
and  drilled  to  use  spear  and  bow  and  arrow  in  the  de- 
fence of  the  castle,  which,  as  so  often  happened  in  the 
bloody  annals  of  the  Highlands,  was  exposed  to  attack 
in  the  absence  of  the  chief  and  his  fighting  men.  Then 
the  women  would  put  on  their  war  dress,  a  distinctive 
costume  never  worn  at  other  times  ;  and  many  a  good 
defence  they  made,  holding  out  till  help  could  come. 
Were  they  overcome,  there  was  always  a  short  road  to 
honour  and  peace  —  nine  inches  of  the  delicate  blade 
which  each  of  them  wore  from  earliest  childhood  in 
times  of  danger.  When  one  reads  of  samurai  women 
being  taken  prisoners,  one  may  be  fairly  sure  that  there 
was  a  child  to  be  protected,  a  husband  to  be  saved ;  then 
they  could  throw  themselves  at  the  conqueror's  feet,  and 
win  by  their  beauty,  as  Tokiwa  won  from  Kiyoinori,  the 
pity  which  would  have  been  refused  to  their  misfortunes. 

No  samurai  woman  could  live  with  the  weight  of  an 
unavenged  insult  upon  her.  In  the  stories  and  plays 
which  turn  on  the  life  of  feudal  times,  we  are  shown 
women  who  call  each  other  out  to  single  combat  in  pun- 
ishment of  such  a  wrong,  and  no  reproach  of  unwoman- 
liness  seems  ever  to  have  attached  itself  to  them.  I 
often  wonder  how  the  Japanese  man  really  regards  his 


LETTERS   FKOM   JAl'AN 


317 


womankind  ;  how  he  did  regard  her  in  the  old  fighting 
days,  when  she  was  so  constant!}'  his  second  sword,  as 
it  were.  The  Japanese  saying  is,  that  a  woman's  spirit, 
is  her  mirror,  as  the  sword  is  the  soul 
of  a  man.  They  have  made  a  mirror 
the  chief  symbol  of  the  State  reli- 
gion of  Japan  ;  and  here,  as  elsewhere, 
every  true  woman  must  be  something 
of  a  soldier  at  heart.  Could  a  woman 
without  warrior  blood  in  her  veins 
rouse  her  little  boy  hi  the  black  chill 
of  a  winter  night,  saying,  "  Yone,  my 
son,  the  fencing  has  begun  in  the 
square  !  Join  thy  comrades,  or  they 
will  outdo  thee  in  the  day  of  battle  "  ? 
Not  once,  but  again  and  again  did  the 
mother  of  one  of  my  friends  thus  send 
him  forth,  shivering  indeed  with  cold,  but  warm  with 
emulation,  to  fight  with  his  young  comrades  sham  battles 
in  the  dark  nights,  and  come  home,  bruised  and  sore 
perhaps,  but  with  the  generous  blood  coursing  through 
his  veins,  and  the  sense  of  victory  warming  every  nerve. 
Ah !  the  sword  is  a  great  teacher,  and  strength  is  not 
earned  in  ease.  The  boys  in  all  the  schools  of  Japan 
are  taught  drill  and  musketry  and  sword  practice  as 
regularly  and  persistently  as  they  are  taught  reading 
and  writing.  But,  then,  schools  here  are  not  prisons, 
not  penal  settlements ;  boys  lose  neither  their  morality, 
their  courage,  nor  their  self-respect  by  attending  them. 
With  us  the  schoolboy  must  be  unmade  before  there 


A  WOMAN'S  SPIRIT  is 
HER  MIRROR" 


318 


LETTEES  FKOM  JAPAN 


is  room  for  the  gentleman  or  the  soldier  to  appear.  In 
Japan,  education  avowedly  goes  to  the  production  of 
both,  and  from  the  time  the  child  knows  his  own 
name  clean  ideals  are  set  before  him.  Happy  Japanese 
mothers !  How  quiet  they  \  must  sleep  of  nights ! 
The  ideals  of  the  race  \  have  not  changed,  and  I 

hope  they  never  will. 
All  courage,  all  calm- 
ness, all  indiffer- 
ence to  self  —  these 
were  and  are  what 
samurai  men  and 
women  have  a 
right  to  expect  of 
each  other;  and 
should  the  nation 
ever  again  be 
plunged  in  war, 
I  fancy  the  sa- 
murai spirit  will 
have  much  to  do 
with  carrying  it 
through  and  over  its  difficulties.  This  spirit  was  curi- 
ously shown  the  other  day.  A  very  great  friend  of  ours, 
Mr.  Sannomiya,1  of  whom  I  have  so  often  spoken  to 
you,  met  with  a  serious  accident.  He  and  several  others 
were  posted  along  the  sides  of  artificial  canals,  up  which 
the  Japanese  beaters  drive  the  wild  duck  for  the  guns. 
These  canals  are  deep  and  narrow,  having  high  green 

1  Now  Baron  Sannomiya. 


THE    FENCING    HAS    BEGUN1." 


LETTEES   FKOM  JAPAN 


319 


banks  on  either  side,  with  a  bamboo  fencing  at  the  top, 
pierced  here  and  there  for  the  guns  to  pass  through.  The 
place  will  look  utterly  deserted,  and  yet  be  bristling  with 
guns  rendered  quite  invisible  by  these  screens.  Well, 
by  some  mistake  poor  Mr.  Sannomiya  received  the  whole 
of  a  charge  of  duckshot  at  precisely  the  distance  when 
the  charge  had  expanded  enough  to  cover  his  whole  per- 


A    SAMURAI    LADY    IMPLORING    HER    SON    NOT    TO    COMMIT    SUICIDE 

son.  He  was  very  much  hurt.  The  unwilling  assailant 
was  ready  to  commit  suicide  from  despair;  but  this 
would  not  have  helped  poor  Mr.  Sannomiya,  who  was 
taken  to  the  Red  Cross  Hospital  in  a  very  critical  con- 
dition. His  wife  told  me  afterwards  that  the  surgeons 
were  anxious  to  administer  chloroform  before  extracting 
the  shots.  They  warned  the  patient  that  the  operation 


320  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

would  be  painful  in  the  extreme ;  but  Mr.  Sannomiya 
scoffed  at  the  idea.  "  Who  ever  heard  of  a  samurai 
taking  chloroform?"  he  asked,  and  lay  still  while 
thirty-six  pellets  were  cut  out  from  his  head  alone. 
Very  high  fever  and  six  weeks  of  painful  convalescence 
in  the  Hospital  followed  —  weeks  during  which  he 
never  uttered  one  complaint ;  and  when  I  saw  him  at 
last,  he  looked  like  the  ghost  of  his  old  cheerful  self. 
With  my  usual  brilliant  tact,  I  managed  to  invite  him 

and  Marquis  K ,  his  assailant,  to  dinner  on  the  same 

day  not  very  long  afterwards.  I  only  remembered  the 
unfortunate  combination  too  late  to  alter  it,  and  I  think 
that  the  samurai  spirit  was  shown  quite  as  much  by  the 
urbane  kindness  and  gentleness  of  both  the  men  that 
evening  as  it  had  been  by  poor  Mr.  Sannomiya's  silent 
stoicism  in  the  Hospital. 

Madame  Sannomiya  is  one  of  the  ladies  who  have 
done  most  for  the  Red  Cross  Society  here,  of  which  the 
Empress  is  the  President  and  the  ruling  spirit.  We  all 
belong  to  it,  and  have  beautiful  little  medals,  which 
we  wear  at  the  functions  connected  with  the  Hospital. 
Anybody  who  likes  may  become  a  member,  and  the 
meetings  are  crowded  by  a  very  representative  gather- 
ing of  the  population.  The  first  one  to  which  I  went 
was  quite  a  revelation  to  me  of  the  way  in  which  the 
Empress  has  managed  to  draw  the  people  to  her.  An 
immense  enclosed  hall  in  Uyeno  is  set  aside  for  these 
meetings.  For  the  avoidance  of  crushing,  it  is  divided 
into  sections,  which  run  down  both  sides  of  its  whole 
length,  leaving  a  path  up  the  middle.  A  high  platform 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  321 

at  one  end  is  reserved  for  the  Empress  and  the  Impe- 
rial Princes  and  Princesses,  and  we  have  our  places  on 
benches  at  the  side.  The  great  space  was  so  thickly 
packed  with  people  that  it  seemed  as  if  there  would 
not  be  standing  room  for  another  pair  of  feet,  and  every 
class  except  the  very  poorest  seemed  to  have  furnished 
members.  But  I  do  not  think  it  was  entirely  interest 
in  the  Hospital  which  had  induced  them  to  pay  their 
little  or  big  subscriptions ;  I  think  the  crowd  came  (and 
only  subscribers  are  admitted)  in  order  to  see  the  Em- 
press stand  on  the  da'is,  and  to  hear  her  read  the  report 
of  the  year.  The  Empress,  amidst  a  silence  of  intense 
excitement  and  respect,  stepped  forward  with  a  paper 
in  her  hand,  and  in  a  clear  voice  read  the  report  it 
contained.  This  was  what  was  so  truly  amazing  — 
the  most  modern  thing  I  have  yet  seen  in  Japan ! 

After  she  had  finished,  those  who  were  to  be  newly 
enrolled  went  up  the  steps  of  the  da'is,  and  received  their 
medals  and  diplomas  from  Prince  Komatsu,  who  said 
a  few  words  about  the  Empress's  gratitude  to  all  who 
helped  this  charitable  scheme  so  dear  to  her.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  bowing  and  band-playing,  and  then 
the  Empress  retired,'  and  we  went  off  to  look  at  some 
sword-forging,  or  rather  sword-damascening,  which  had 
been  got  up  for  one  of  the  Princes  in  another  building. 
I  am  afraid  I  do  not  know  anything  about  blades ;  but 
I  was  immensely  interested  in  the  old  sword-smith  and 
his  work.  He  and  his  two  assistants  were  dressed  in 
white  ceremonious-looking  costumes ;  a  kind  of  white 
square  tent  had  been  erected  over  his  ovens  and  bel- 


322  LETTEES  FROM  JAPAN 

lows ;  and  he  kept  up  a  running  fire  of  orders  to  his 
assistants  in  a  low  voice  during  the  whole  process.  The 
blades  were  handed  to  him  one  by  one,  when  he  drew 
on  them  a  lovely  design,  apparently  without  fore- 
thought, in  a  black  substance ;  the  blade  was  heated 
white  hot ;  and  then,  with  tools  which  to  me  were  name- 
less, it  was  welded  and  hardened,  and  fused  in  the  fire 
and  welded  again,  polished,  cooled,  and  then  handed  up 
to  the  Prince's  aide-de-camp,  who  showed  it  to  his 
master.  The  result  was  most  beautiful,  and  purely  Jap- 
anese ;  but  the  Prince  seemed  indifferent,  and  barely 
glanced  at  the  blade.  The  old  man  looked  profoundly 
discouraged,  and  started  on  another  at  once,  as  if  hoping 
to  please  him  better  the  next  time.  I  was  very  sorry  for 
his  disappointment.  It  was  nothing  to  the  descendant 
of  a  hundred  generations  of  sword-smiths  that  we,  igno- 
rant foreigners,  should  admire  his  work ;  but  that  his 
own  Imperial  Prince,  in  his  gorgeous  military  uniform, 
with  a  foreign  sword  at  his  side,  should  not  care  for  the 
weapon  of  honour,  "the  soul  of  the  samurai"  that  evi- 
dently cut  very  deep  indeed. 

I  was  speaking  of  service  a  little  while  ago,  and  of 
how  the  servant  shares  in  the  honour  accorded  to  his 
master.  All  our  servants  belong  to  one  clan ;  and  I 
was  warned  on  first  coming  to  live  here  that  it  would 
be  a  mistake  to  introduce  strangers,  as  they  would  be 
very  badly  received.  I  cannot  quite  make  out  who 
governs  the  politics  of  the  clan ;  but  I  see  that  my 
amah  and  her  husband  are  extremely  powerful  in  it. 
Once  or  twice,  when  necessity  has  induced  me  to  take 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN  323 

some  highly  recommended  servant  from  a  friend,  the 
experiment  has  always. ended  in  the  new  servant's  com- 
ing to  me  with  extreme  regret  to  announce  that  a  grand- 
mother in  a  distant  province  had  been  taken  dangerously 
ill,  and  required  the  presence  of  all  her  relatives  at  once. 
Sympathy  was  received  with  silent  respect,  a  small  pres- 
ent of  money,  although  perhaps  much  needed,  somewhat 
unwillingly,  because  at  that  time  I  did  not  know  that 
to  give  money  not  properly  wrapped  up  in  paper  is  all 
but  an  insult.  Then  the  new  servant  would  disappear, 
to  return  no  more.  Only  one  have  I  lost  in  a  different 
way,  and  then  I  confess  that  my  wrath  was  extreme ; 
but  it  was  a  question  of  the  internal  government  of  the 
clan,  and  my  poor  little  housemaid  had  to  go  —  to 
Honolulu. 

Her  name  was  Toki,  and  she  was  a  widow,  with  one 
little  boy,  about  ten  years  old.  She  was  very  small  and 
delicate-looking,  with  a  fine  oval  face,  high-bred  features, 
and  a  beseeching  gentle  expression,  as  if  life  might  be 
softened  into  treating  her  more  kindly  in  the  future 
than  in  the  past.  The  women's  work  in  the  house  is 
so  very  light  that  there  was  no  hardship  in  the  service. 
I  found  that  even  O'Matsu  did  not  insist  upon  the  atten- 
tions she  usually  claimed  from  Toki's  predecessor,  hav- 
ing set  up  a  servant  of  her  own,  a  nice  little  girl  of 
twelve  or  thirteen,  whom  she  bullied  gloriously.  Toki 
had  been  several  months  with  us,  and  I  had  got  quite 
accustomed  to  seeing  the  slight  graceful  figure  shadow- 
ing my  path,  when  one  day  Mrs.  D came  up  to  say 

that  there  was  terrible  trouble  in  the  servants'  quarters ; 


324  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

Toki  was  weeping  bitterly,  and  said  she  must  go  away. 
Rinzo  and  O'Matsu  had  decided  that  she  was  to  go 
away. 

I  bounded  on  my  chair,  and  then  Rinzo  and  O'Matsu 
were  called  and  interrogated.  They  send  Toki  away  ? 
Never !  They  loved  her  as  a  daughter,  and  it  was 
breaking  their  hearts  that  the  dear  girl  insisted  in 
the  most  headstrong  manner  on  going  to  Honolulu,  to 
marry  a  member  of  the  clan  who  had  lost  his  wife 
since  he  emigrated.  But  he  was  a  good  man,  rich, 
chief  cook  to  a  foreign  gentleman ;  doubtless  Toki 
would  be  happy.  Still,  they  would  miss  her  very  much, 
and  ,were  so  sorry  that  she  was  going ! 

There  is  an  omnivorous  emigration  agent  for  Hawaii 
here,  who  is,  they  say,  highly  paid  for  all  the  Japanese 
he  can  send  across.  I  had  never  come  into  collision 
with  him  before ;  but  if  I  could  have  laid  my  hand  on 
him  that  day,  he  would  have  heard  what  the  tracts  call 
"  a  few  plain  words."  I  was  certain  that  the  most 
dreadful  pressure  was  being  brought  to  bear  on  my 
gentle  little  Toki,  who  was  devoted  to  her  son,  and,  in 
a  minor  way,  to  us.  The  next  interview  I  had  was  with 
her.  I  told  her  that  no  power  on  earth  should  take  her 
away  if  she  wanted  to  stay ;  and  that  I  was  sure  it  was 
her  duty  to  remain  with  her  son.  She  cried  bitterly, 
poor  soul;  but  said  that  her  kind  relations  had  appren- 
ticed her  boy  to  a  jeweller  on  the  Ginza  (the  street  of 
shops),  who  would  certainly  make  his  fortune ;  that  it 
was  her  own  unprompted  wish  to  go  to  Honolulu  to 
marry  the  rich  man's  cook  whom  she  had  never  seen ; 


LETTERS    FROM   JAPAN  325 

that  Okusama  was  too  kind,  too  much  kind  (oh  dear ! 
oh  dear !  and  more  floods  of  tears),  but  she  would  sail 
on  the  17th. 

And  so  she  did.  O'Matsu  took  her  down  to  Yoko- 
hama, and  was  in  black  disgrace  for  a  month  after\vard>. 
during  which  she  too  wept  copiously  over  the  missing 
of  the  headstrong  Toki  and  Okusama's  unkind  suspi- 
cions. At  last  she  had  to  be  forgiven  on  account  of 
her  charming  manners  and  her  general  usefulness. 
Then,  with  surprising  regularity,  I  was  told  that  Toki 
had  written  to  say  that  she  was  very  happy,  to  say  that 
her  husband  gave  her  five  meals  a  day  all  of  the  best 
rice,  to  say  (by  the  next  mail  this)  that  she  had  a  kind 
Japanese  doctor  and  three  large  gold  rings,  to  say,  by 
the  next  mail  again  (O'Matsu  forgot  to  state  who  wrote 
this  letter),  that  —  she  was  dead. 

Sayunara,  little  Toki. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX 

A   TERRIBLE   EARTHQUAKE.  —  THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    A   PROV- 
INCE. —  KAKKE,        A      STRANGE       DISEASE.   —  JAPANESE 

TRAINED   NURSES 

November,  1891. 

ON  October  28th,  early  in  the  morning,  we  were 
roused  by  the  most  terrifying  shock  of  earth- 
quake that  I  have  yet  experienced.  The  disturbance 
took  the  dangerous  form  of  violent  vertical  movement, 
accompanied  by  fearful  rumblings  and  the  crashing 
of  stones.  We  were  all  asleep ;  but  even  in  sleep  that 
apprehension  never  leaves  one,  and  before  I  was  awake 
I  had  reached  the  door,  and  was  trying  to  get  out  into 
the  gallery.  Sometimes  the  door  gets  jammed  during 
an  earthquake,  and  in  any  case  it  is  not  easy  to  open 
it  when  the  floor  is  tossing  like  a  ship  at  sea,  and  the 
roar  and  crash  are  so  awful  that  you  cannot  hear  the 
voice  of  a  person  standing  at  your  elbow !  As  a  rule 
the  shock  has  a  duration  of  from  thirty  to  sixty  seconds, 
and  that  feels  like  hours  in  the  horror  of  dismay  that 
it  inspires ;  this  first  one  of  October  28th  went  on  for 
seven  minutes,  and  was  followed  by  lesser  ones  for 
many  hours.  For  all  its  terrors,  it  did  only  minor 
damage  here ;  but  in  the  south  it  has  practically  wiped 
out  a  large  and  thriving  district,  one  which  had  always 

326 


LETTEKS    FROM   JAPA^  327 

been  considered  exceptionally  free  from  such  visitations, 
and  as  yet  the  loss  of  life  and  property  cannot  even 
be  estimated. 

It  had  another  most  unusual  quality  of  earthquake 
shocks :  it  had  been  predicted.  On  what  grounds  pre- 
cisely it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  with  confident  cer- 
tainty, at  any  rate.  The  last  really  severe  earthquake 
(I  am  not  speaking,  of  course,  of  volcanic  eruptions, 
which  are  generally  accompanied  by  shocks  of  more  or 
less  violence)  took  place  in  1854  ;  and  it  was  prophesied 
that  there  would  be  another  in  thirty-seven  years  —  a 
prophecy  which  has  just  been  fulfilled.  As,  for  twelve 
hundred  years,  there  is  no  record  of  precisely  that 
interval  between  one  earthquake  and  another,  it  sounds 
like  an  arbitrary  prediction.  Thirty-seven  is  one  of 
the  Japanese  mystic  numbers ;  when  that  period  after 
a  death  has  elapsed,  the  survivors  perform  certain  rites 
for  the  benefit  of  the  dead  —  ornament  their  shrines  and 
make  offerings  to  them.  And  doubtless  many  of  those 
who  perished  in  that  earthquake  are  being  so  remem- 
bered now.  But  this  catastrophe  has,  I  think,  surpassed 
in  horror  all  those  remembered  by  living  people.  The 
centre  of  the  disturbance  was  at  Gifu  and  Nagoya.  At 
this  last  place  seven  hundred  shocks  of  earthquake  were 
registered  between  October  28th  and  November  3rd. 
Professor  Milne's  beautiful  seismographs  were  quite 
incompetent  to  register  the  strength  of  the  shocks, 
which  far  surpassed  anything  that  had  been  contem- 
plated when  the  machines  were  invented.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  visitation  at  its  centre  is  awful  past  belief. 


328  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

Two  towns  and  many  villages  are  completely  destroyed ; 
railway  lines  are  twisted  like  wire;  huge  bridges  t< . — 
into  the  air  and  snapped  like  matchwood,  the  stone 
pillars  on  which  they  stood  being  sliced  smoothly  through 
then:  whole  diameter.  Mountains  have  slipped  from 
then*  foundations ;  a  new  lake  has  been  formed ;  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  river  dykes  injured  —  one 
half  of  this  totally  destroyed ;  a  grove  of  bamboos  was 
taken  up  and  flung  sixty  feet  from  where  it  stood; 
the  earth  has  opened  in  frightful  fissures,  and  hi  some 
cases  closed  again  over  the  houses  and  bodies  it  had 
swallowed.  The  lowest  estimation  puts  the  houses 
totally  destroyed  at  42,345,  those  partially  ruined  at 
18,106.  As  for  loss  of  life,  that  will  never  be  known, 
I  fear ;  every  turn  of  the  spade  brings  dead  and  dying 
to  light,  and  many  of  the  wounded  were  so  frightfully 
hurt  that  it  was  impossible  to  save  them.  As  all  the 
telegraph  communication  and  railway  traffic  was  inter- 
rupted, it  was  not  easy  to  bring  assistance  immediately 
to  the  sufferers,  and  the  first  doctors  and  nurses  who 
got  to  them  were  on  then*  feet  for  days  and  nights, 
and  did  more  than  seemed  humanly  possible  to  help 
the  poor  creatures.  At  Ogaki  Hospital,  two  surgeons 
dressed  the  wounds  of  six  hundred  patients  in  forty- 
eight  hours. 

The  misery  and  destruction  were  as  usual  enor- 
mously increased  by  the  fires  which  at  once  broke  out. 
What  the  earthquake  left  the  fire  devoured ;  and  now, 
with  the  winter  coming  on,  at  least  one  hundred  thou- 
sand people  are  without  houses,  without  food,  having 


RESULTS    OF    THE    EARTHQUAKE 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  331 

lost  their  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood,  and  every- 
thing else  in  the  world.  Of  course  every  kind  of  assist- 
ance is  being  given  by  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress, 
by  the  Government,  by  public  subscriptions,  and  private 
individuals;  nurses  and  doctors  have  flocked  to  the 
afflicted  districts,  and  relief  camps  have  been  started, 
where  allowances  of  food  are  dealt  out ;  but  with  all 
that,  the  suffering  is  awful,  the  want  all  but  impossible 
to  satisfy.  Here  we  do  nothing  but  collect  money  and 
clothes,  bandages  and  blankets ;  and  the  railway  com- 
panies carry  it  all  free  of  charge  down  to  the  scene  of 
the  trouble.  I  am  glad  to  say  the  English  trained 
nurse  from  St.  Hilda's  was  sent  down  at  once,  with 
two  Japanese  nurses  and  a  doctor,  at  the  mission's 
expense,  and  have  been  doing  good  work  among  the 
sufferers,  who  are,  every  one  says,  perfectly  patient  and 
resigned.  There  has  been  no  murmuring  even  at  the 
misfortunes,  and  their  patience  and  gentleness  make  it 
easy  to  organise  and  carry  out  the  plans  for  their  help. 
The  excellent  organisation  of  the  Red  Cross  Society 
has  shown  itself  now;  and  the  indefatigable  efforts  of 
doctors  and  nurses  have  certainly  allayed  much  suf- 
fering and  saved  many  lives. 

I  hardly  know  Dr.  Hashimoto,  the  director  of  the 
Red  Cross  Hospital.  He  is  utterly  devoted  to  his  work, 
and  never  goes  out ;  neither  does  his  colleague,  Dr. 
Takagi,  of  the  Charity  Hospital ;  but  I  have  been 
brought  more  often  into  contact  with  him.  He  took 
me  over  the  wards  the  first  time  I  went  there,  and 
explained  to  me  the  evolution  of  that  extraordinary 


332 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


A    RELIEF    CAMP 


disease  kakke,  which  seems  to  be  a  purely  Japanese 
ailment.  The  muscles  of  the  legs  become  useless,  with- 
out any  symptoms  of  paralysis,  and  gradually  waste 
away,  leaving  the  limb  cold  and  shrivelled.  The  disease 
attacks  men,  and  hard-working  men  more  than  any  other 
class  of  the  community,  and  is  frequent  in  districts 


LETTERS  FROM   JAPAN  333 

where  the  people  live  on  rice  alone  as  their  staple  food. 
My  amah  tells  me  that  in  her  province,  where  a  kind 
of  rough  oatmeal  is  mixed  with  the  food,  the  disease 
is  almost  unknown.  The  soldiers  suffer  from  it  a  good 
deal ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  meat  diet  lately  introduced 
in  alternation  with  the  native  rice  and  fish  food  will 
do  much  to  overcome  the  weakness.  In  the  navy  the 
men  are  generously  fed  on  meat,  rather  to  their  own 
distaste,  but  very  much  to  their  physical  well-being. 
I  think  I  told  you  that  Count  Saigo,  the  Minister  of 
Marine,  is  a  firm  believer  in  European  food  methods, 
and  carries  them  out  in  his  own  family. 

At  Karuizawa,  or  rather  about  a  mile  away  from 
the  village,  in  a  pretty  gorge,  is  a  little  spring  of  warm 
mineral  water  which  is  supposed  to  be  very  beneficial 
to  kakke  patients ;  and  numbers  of  soldiers  from  some 
military  hospital  used  to  be  sent  up  to  bathe  there. 
They  were  lodged  in  the  inn,  and  seemed  to  be  under 
no  especial  control ;  but  a  milder,  gentler  set  of  fellows  it 
would  be  impossible  to  find.  They  made  friends  with 
every  child  in  the  village ;  and  as  soon  as  they  grew  a 
little  stronger  would  generally  carry  a  baby  friend  about 
with  them.  They  used  to  go  off  in  bands  of  nine  or  ten 
at  a  time  to  the  little  tumble-down  bath-house  in  the 
gorge ;  they  were  all  dressed  in  a  dark-blue  yucata,  with 
the  number  of  their  regiment  worked  on  it  in  red,  straw 
ivaraji  on  their  feet,  and  nothing  by  any  chance  on  their 
heads  except  the  shock  of  bristling  black  hair  which  is 
induced  by  the  constant  practice  of  shaving  the  head  in 
childhood.  How  often  in  our  queer  journeys  I  have  seen 


334  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

the  careful  mother  shaving  her  baby's  head  while  he  was 
asleep  !  The  little  one  never  stirred ;  and  when  the  pro- 
cess was  over,  the  mother  would  reach  out  for  the  small 
green  mosquito  net,  supported  on  split  bamboos,  and  put 
it  down  over  the  baby  in  a  safe  square,  and  then  creep 
away  to  her  household  work.  This  shaving  is  very 
irritating  to  the  poor  infant's  skin,  and  induces  forms 
of  eczema  the  most  distressing  and  obstinate.  The  nuns 
have  no  end  of  trouble  in  this  way  with  the  children 
brought  to  them. 

In  going  over  the  Charity  Hospital,  the  University 
Hospital,  or  that  of  the  Red  Cross  (chiefly  devoted  to 
accidents  and  surgical  cases),  one  sees  none  of  the 
anomalies  that  I  have  noticed  in  some  of  those  conducted 
on.  more  elementary  lines.  No  infectious  or  contagious 
diseases  are  received  in  the  wards  devoted  to  ordinary 
patients  ;  the  nurses  are  admirably  trained,  and  if  wanting 
in  initiative  to  meet  a  sudden  responsibility,  are  at  any 
rate  religiously  obedient  to  the  doctors,  and  invariably 
kind  to  the  patients.  I  have  had  many  sieges  of  illness 
since  I  came  (the  climate  is  anything  but  favourable  to 
the  highly  nervous  organisation  of  the  European  woman) ; 
but  I  have  been  partly  repaid  for  these  by  the  delight 
and  amusement  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  one  who 
is  now  a  real  friend  —  my  first  Japanese  trained  nurse. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  day  when  she  first  loomed  on  my 
astonished  vision. 

She  was  barely  four  feet  high,  her  complexion  was 
dark  in  the  extreme,  her  feet  were  incased  in  white 
linen  socks  with  divided  toes,  and  shod  with  dainty 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  335 

straw  sandals  with  green  velvet  straps.  Her  figure,  the 
shape  of  a  very  soft  feather  pillow  which  has  been  hung 
up  by  one  end  for  days,  was  draped  in  a  tight-fitting 
white  apron  with  a  large  bib,  and  she  was  kept  inside 
her  buttonless  and  stringless  clothes  by  a  cruelly  tight 
and  wide  leather  belt  put  on  over  apron  and  all.  Into 
this  belt,  holding  her  breath  for  a  long  time  first,  she 
could,  with  a  great  effort,  push  her  fat  silver  watch,  her 
clinical  thermometer,  two  or  three  yards  of  a  Japanese 
letter  (which  she  would  read,  a  foot  at  a  time,  when 
she  thought  I  was  asleep),  her  carefully  folded  paper 
pocket-handkerchief,  and  the  relentless  little  register 
in  which  she  noted  down,  from  right  to  left,  strange 
cabalistic  signs,  with  which  she  and  the  doctor  conjured 
every  morning  till  they  knew  all  the  sins  my  pulse  and 
temperature  had  been  committing  for  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours.  Her  name  was  O'Tora  San  (Honourable 
Tiger  Miss),  but  her  ways  were  those  of  the  softest 
and  most  harmless  pussy  that  ever  purred  on  a  domestic 
hearthrug,  and  oh,  what  a  nurse  she  was !  So  gentle, 
so  smiling,  so  very  delightfully  sorry  for  one !  It  was 
quite  worth  being  ill  to  revel  iu  such  seas  of  sympathy. 
I  have  often  caught  the  tears  running  down  her  little 
brown  nose  when  the  poor  Okusama  was  extra  bad ; 
and  through  long  nights  of  pain  has  she  stood  by  my 
bed,  or  sat  on  her  heels  on  a  corner  of  it,  fanning  me 
ceaselessly  with  the  all  but  imperceptible  flutter  of  the 
fan's  edge  —  a  movement  only  possible  for  those  wonder- 
fully sensitive  Japanese  fingers,  but  most  refreshing  to 
the  fanned  one. 


336  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

When  it  was  time  for  her  to  have  her  meals,  my  chief 
maid,  O'Matsu,  a  dainty-looking  princess  of  nature  her- 
self, would  creep  into  the  room,  having  shed  her  sandals 
at  the  door,  and,  after  inquiring  about  my  health,  would 
make  a  deep  and  graceful  obeisance  to  the  Honourable 
Tiger  Miss,  and  inform  her  in  a  respectful  whisper  that 
her  honourable  dinner  was  ready.  The  polite  little  Tiger 
would  jump  up,  return  the  bow,  ask  my  leave  to  depart, 
and  slip  out  to  feed  on  fish,  pickles  (such  dreadfully 
strong-smelling  pickles !),  and  rice,  washed  down,  as 
they  say  in  the  Waverley  Novels,  by  thimblefuls  of 
green  tea  or  fish  soup.  After  about  fifteen  minutes  of 
solid  feeding  she  would  return,  come  to  my  bedside, 
and  express  her  gratitude  for  the  meal  supplied  to  her. 
Then  she  would  drop  down  on  her  cushion  in  the  corner, 
and  with  the  calm  unconventionality  peculiar  to  her  race 
let  out  a  couple  of  holes  in  the  leather  belt.  Another 
polite  summons  would  be  brought  to  her  with  more  bows 
at  about  eight  o'clock  every  evening,  when  the  Japanese 
bath  in  the  back  yard  had  been  heated  to  boiling-point. 
O'Tora  San  was  always  invited  to  take  "  first  wash," 
before  even  No.  1  boy,  amah,  or  chief  cook.  This  was 
a  great  compliment,  for  the  hierarchy  downstairs  took 
its  bath  according  to  rank  with  as  much  exactness  and 
punctilio  as  if  its  members  had  been  ambassadors  being 
received  at  Court. 

O'Tora  San  had  the  real  nurse's  gift  for  feeling 
the  time,  and  waking  at  the  right  hour ;  and  for  eight 
days  and  nights  I  think  she  never  failed  to  come  to 
my  bedside  every  two  hours  to  replenish  the  ice-bags 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


337 


A    TRAINED    NURSE 


in  which  I  lay.  Once  she  had  to  go 
away  for  two  days  for  some  family 
reason,  and  was  replaced  by  a  dreadful 
person,  who  had  never  nursed  in  a  Euro- 
pean house  before,  who  did  not  know 
a  warming-pan  from  a  smelling-bottle, 
and  who  further  irritated  me  by  read- 
ing endless  Japanese  newspapers  printed 
backwards  on  pink  paper.  How  glad  I 
was  when  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second 
day  my  little  Tiger  returned,  smil- 
ing sweetly  as  usual,  with  an  enor- 
mous sheaf  of  Japanese  pinks  in 
her  hand,  and  looking  so  nice  in  her 
own  soft  grey  silk  kimono  and  sash, 
instead  of  the  hideous  hospital  apron  and  leather  belt. 
Many  of  the  Japanese  trained  nurses  have  come 
under  the  influence  of  Canadian  Methodist  missionaries, 
and  their  phraseology  is  sometimes  startling  in  the 
extreme.  A  colleague  of  my  little  Tiger  was  nursing 
a  friend  of  mine,  the  wife  of  an  American  clergyman. 
O'Take  San  (Honourable  Bamboo  Miss)  was  rather 
pretty,  and  on  being  questioned  admitted  that  she  had 
been  married  —  once.  My  friend  became  all  sympathy, 
expecting  to  hear  of  early  widowhood  and  a  broken 
heart.  She  asked  timidly  what  had  become  of  the 
husband.  She  was  electrified  by  the  answer.  "  Wai " 
(O'Take  San  had  an  aggressive  twang,  acquired  with 
much  care),  "  I  guessed  he  didn't  love  his  Saviour 
'nough,  so  I  sent  him  right  away.  See  ? " 


338  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

I  will  add  here  two  little  letters  which  I  received 
from  O'Tora  San  and  a  friend  of  hers,  written  to  bid 
me  farewell  in  the  summer  of  the  next  year.  The 
first  is  from  O'Tora  herself,  and  wonderfully  well-spelt 
and  written: 

"  TOKYO  CHARITY  HOSPITAL. 

"  MY  HONOURABLE  MADAM,  —  I  have  a  great  honour  to  get  an 
opportunity  to  write  you.  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  could  not  meet 
you  before  you  leave  Japan.  Indeed,  I  was  always  thinking  to 
visit  you ;  but  as  my  body  is  not  free  as  a  nurse,  I  could  not  succeed 
my  purpose.  Once  I  had  been  at  Yokohama  as  a  nurse,  my  engagement 
was  finished,  and  I  returned  Tokyo.  Alas !  you  were  not  in  Tokyo. 
Will  there  be  no  time  to  meet  you  again  ?  If  my  thought  goes  so 
far  as  this  point,  I  always  burst  into  tears.  Madam,  permit  my 
negligency.  If  I  may  have  an  honour  to  receive  your  letter,  I  shall 
be  very  much  obliged  of  you,  and  will  keep  it  as  long  as  my  life  as 
the  memory  of  yours." 

O'Tora's  friend,  to  whom  I  had  been  able  to  show 
some  trifling  kindness,  wrote  more  than  once  to  thank 
me.  Indeed,  one  often  feels  very  small  at  accepting  the 
lasting  and  effusive  gratitude  with  which  little  services 
or  gifts  are  received.  Her  letter  runs  thus,  and  shows 
that  she  had  come  under  missionary  influence : 

"  MY  HONOURABLE  MADAM,  —  I  have  great  honour  to  write  you. 
.  .  .  Miss  Matsui  (O'Tora  San)  told  me  that  you  were  ill,  so  I  was 
quite,  astonished,  and  tried  to  visit  you ;  but,  alas  !  you  were  then  for 
Europe.  I  therefore  have  nothing  for  you  but  only  to  welcome  you , 
again  in  Japan.  I  am  sure  that  you  will  be  again  in  our  country. 
I  am,  madam,  working  at  hospital,  and  for  me  nurse  is  suitable. 
For  the  glory  of  Almighty  Father  I  am  eagerly  studying  nursing.  .  .  . 
Indeed,  our  hospital  is  just  like  some  Christian  school ;  Rev.  Wada, 
pastor  of  Shiba  Church,  gives  us  important  sermons  every  Saturday 
evening,  and  we  are  to  attend  Church  every  Sunday  morning,  and  in 


LETTE1IS   FPtCLM   JAPAN 


339 


the  evening  there  are  Bible  lessons  constructed  for  ns.  .  .  .  My 
heart  is  filled  with  joy  and  thanks.  .  .  .  By  God's  mercy  I  am  quite 
healthy  and  strong  in  spirit  and  body.  Some  day  when  I  get  lei- 
sure, if  you  return,  I  shall  have  an  honour  to  visit  and  thank  your 
kindness  orally. 

"  I  remain,  dear  Madam,  always 

u  Your  faithful  servant, 

TANAKA." 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE     MARRIAGE     OF     PRINCE     KANIN     AND     PRINCESS     CHIYE 

SANJO. THE     WEDDING     DINNER     AND    THE     WEDDING 

CAKE.  —  THE    STORY    OF    THE    SUN-GODDESS.  —  BUDDHIST 
AND   SHINTO   NUNS.  —  AN   IMPERIAL  'ABBESS 

January,  1892. 

rr^HE  end  of  the  year  was  marked  by  the  marriage 
-*-  of  young  Princess  Sanjo  (her  name  is  Chiye)  to 
Prince  Kotohito  Kanin,  one  of  the  Imperial  Princes, 
who  has  spent  some  years  in  France  studying  naval 
matters.  The  wedding  itself  was  conducted  in  private ; 
but  a  great  dinner  was  given  in  the  evening  at  the 
Aoyama  Palace,  to  which  we  all  went.  There  were 
most  of  the  Imperial  Princes  and  Princesses,  crowds 
of  officials  and  colleagues,  and  the  whole  thing  was 
rather  brilliant.  It  was  so  funny  to  be  solemnly  pre- 
sented anew  to  the  little  bride,  and  to  make  her  the 
profound  curtseys  which  the  royalties  here  expect.  I 
anr  afraid  we  both  laughed ;  and  when  the  ceremony 
was  over,  she  made  room  for  me  on  the  sofa,  and  we 
had  a  good  talk.  She  looked  quite  charming  in  her 
first  white  brocade,  her  first  diamonds;  and  the  little 
new  airs  of  dignity  sat  very  prettily  on  her,  I  thought. 
She  never  went  to  these  solemn  evening  parties  before, 

340 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  341 

the  Japanese  not  expecting  girls  to  appear  at  them ; 
and  I  should  think  it  must  have  been  rather  an  ordeal 
to  have  to  receive  such  a  number  of  people  at  once. 
All  through  the  long  dinner,  the  first  she  had  ever  at- 
tended, she  was  as  gay  and  composed  as  if  she  had 
been  doing  nothing  else  all  her  life,  and  some  of  us 
remembered  her  wonderful  fortitude  and  courage  after 
the  death  of  her  father  last  year.  Her  mother  has 
never  quite  recovered  her  strength  since  the  blow ; 
and  Princess  Chiye  tells  me  that  she  has  had  a  great 
deal  to  do  for  her  four  little  sisters,  who  look  to  her 
for  guidance  as  well  as  companionship,  and  who  will 
miss  her  sorely  now  that  she  has  been  carried  off  to 
a  palace  of  her  own. 

The  young  Prince,  the  bridegroom,  might  be  taken  as 
a  typical  representative  of  the  old  Japanese  aristocracy. 
His  slight  figure,  delicate  and  beautiful  features,  his 
tiny  hands  and  feet,  all  make  him  one's  ideal  of  the 
mediaeval  boy  Emperor,  kept  from  all  contact  with  the 
rough  realities  of  life,  served,  worshipped,  and  —  irrevo- 
cably enslaved.  But  Prince  Kanin  is  a  free  man,  and 
his  erect  bearing,  clear  voice,  and  flashing  eye  show 
that  there  is  nothing  of  weakness  below  the  slight  and 
boyish  exterior.  He  is  immensely  interested  in  his 
own  profession,  and  ambitious  to  see  the  Japanese  navy 
put  on  the  most  efficient  and  splendid  footing.  His 
French  is  fluent  and  clear;  and  through  the  long  wed- 
ding dinner,  where  I  had  the  honour  of  being  his  neigh- 
bour, he  talked  well  of  many  things,  and  thanked  me  for 
what  he  chose  to  call  the  kindness  I  had  shown  to  the 


LETTERS   PROM  JAPAN 


PRIXCE    KOTOHITO    KANIN 


Princess  in  these 
past  years.  The 
dinner  was  long, 
but  admirably  well 
done,  and  the  flow- 
ers, all  carefully 
chosen  as  the  lucky 
and  joyous  ones, 
most  exquisite.  In 
all  the  decorations 
the  beloved  pine 
branches,  with  lit- 
tle cranes  and  tor- 
toises perched  on 
them,  were  freely 
used;  the  wedding 
cake  was  an  ar- 
tistic presentment 
of  Fuji  San,  pure 

white,  with  little  pine  trees  and  the  lucky  animals 
climbing  round  its  base.  After  a  great  reception  which 
followed  the  dinner  was  over,  and  the  royalties  had 
retired,  I  told  the  Prince's  grand  maitre  that  in  Eng- 
land a  wedding  cake  was  always  cut  up  and  distributed 


\^M^o     \Va/u- 


THE  PRINCE'S  AUTOGRAPH 


LETTEKS   FROM   JAPAN  343 

among  the  guests.  This  was  evidently  a  new  idea ; 
but  it  was  at  once  adopted  with  enthusiasm.  The  grand 
maitre  made  the  first  incision,  and  then  handed  the 
knife  to  me,  as  if  uncertain  whether  I  wanted  half  or 
a  quarter  of  the  enormous  thing  to  take  home  with  me. 
However,  he  was  not  long  in  doubt ;  and  the  moment  I 
had  cut  a  tiny  wedge,  all  the  other  women  present  came 
and  begged  for  a  piece.  Sheets  of  the  pretty  Court  paper 
were  produced,  and  when  I  went  away  I  carried  off 
a  little  pine  tree,  a  white  crane,  and  a  green  tortoise, 
as  well  as  the  flowers  and  bonbon-box  which  I  had 
found  at  my  place.  The  tortoise  is  a  most  enchanting 
creation,  with  a  great  flat  back,  a  beseeching  waggly 
head,  and  a  long  tail  of  pure  green  silk,  which  distin- 
guishes him  from  all  other  tortoises  as  the  only  one 
symbolic  of  riches.  The  pine  is  for  happiness,  the  crane 
for  long  life.  I  hope  dear  little  Princess  Chiye  will 
have  both! 

And  now,  in  these  winter  days,  what  can  I  tell 
you  that  you  have  not  heard  already  ?  For  this  is 
my  third  winter  in  Yedo,  and  I  begin  to  fear  that  I 
have  related  enough  to  weary  you  of  all  its  ways  and 
customs.  On  the  principle  which  used  to  make  you 
read  the  accounts  of  Arctic  expeditions  in  our  Roman 
Junes,  shall  I  tell  you  the  story  of  the  sun-goddess, 


THE  PRINCESS'S  AUTOGRAPH 


•     ^"W        • 


344  LETTEES  FROM  JAPAN 

the  mother  of  all  Japan,  to  whom  even  our  Emperor 
Mutsuhito  in  this  year  of  grace  1892  traces  his 
descent  ? 

Do  you  remember  the  story  of  Izanami  and  Izanagi, 
in  which  the  precedence  of  man  was  established  for  ever  ? 
The  conditions  seem  to  have  been  too  hard  for  poor 
goddess  Izanagi ;  for  she  soon  afterwards  died,  and  went 
down  into  Hades  like  any  other  woman.  Izanami  was 
heart-broken,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  win  her  back ; 
and  he  descended,  shuddering,  into  the  place  of  death. 
The  presence  of  corruption  was  intolerable  to  the  young 
god,  who,  unlike  our  Orpheus,  turned  and  fled  from 
the  shadow-land  without  having  found  his  wife ;  and 
when  he  reached  the  light  again,  sought  but  for  one 
thing — water  wherewith  he  could  purify  himself  from 
the  contaminations  of  the  pit.  So  he  ran  gladly  to  a 
beautiful  stream  on  a  fair  island,  and  quickly  he  stripped 
himself  of  his  clothes  and  plunged  into  the  water.  But 
so  great  was  his  power  and  virtue,  that  even  from  his 
clothes  and  his  staff,  as  he  threw  them  on  the  ground, 
were  born  comely  gods  and  goddesses  ;  full-grown  they 
came,  and  stood  smiling  and  making  reverence  to  their 
august  father  who  was  still  sporting  in  the  water  like 
a  heavenly  fish.  And  from  the  water  that  washed  his 
right  eye  was  born  the  moon,  the  Lord  of  Night,  and 
Izanami  could  hardly  look  at  him  for  his  white  bright- 
ness, and  he  dashed  the  water  over  his  left  eye  as  he 
covered  his  face  with  his  hands ;  and  then  suddenly 
the  flood  which  had  been  cool  against  his  bare  limbs 
became  warm,  and  he  tried  to  open  his  eyes,  and  dared 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


345 


not,  feeling  that  there  was  that  without  which  would 
blind  them.  But  at  last  he  grew  more  courageous,  and 
as  he  felt  warmer  and  warmer  he  _^-__^__^ 
looked  up,  and  saw  a  wonder  :  that 
which  had  been  born  from  the  washing 
of  his  left  eye  was  the  Fair  Shining 
of  Day,  the  sun-goddess  Amaterasu. 
She  was  so  beautiful,  that,  from  her, 
beauty  spread  in  waves  on  the  world 
around.  On  the  water  she  stood,  with 
golden  feet  that  pressed  but  sank  not 
through  the  waves ;  her  stature  was 
very  great,  and  her  hands  were  shed- 
ding living  gold-dust  on  the  river  and 
the  sea  and  the  mountains ;  and  her 
hair  stood  out  round  her  in  a  wheel  of 
flame,  whose  points  reached  to  heaven 
above,  and  to  the  edge  of  the  world 
around  her;  and  her  breath  was  like 
fire  of  fragrant  incense,  so  that  wher- 
ever she  turned  her  face  flowers  grew 
up  in  the  land  of  the  gods.  But  Iza- 
nami  feared  to  be  burnt,  and  once  more 
plunged  his  face  in  the  water  in  which 
he  stood ;  and  when  he  raised  his 
face,  drops  fell  from  his  nostrils,  and 
became  another  god,  the  god  of  wind 
and  tempest,  of  gentle  breezes  and  of  fearful  storms,  and 
his  name  is  the  Impetuous  Susanoo.  And  he  cooled 
the  air  with  his  breath,  so  that  Izanami  could  look  on  the 


MOON  PANEL  (iN  GOLD 

LACQUER) 


346 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


sun-goddess  unhurt ;  and  Izanami  cried,  "  Happy  am  I, 
with  three  such  beautiful  children  —  the  Possessor  of 
Night,  the  Impetuous  Man,  and  Amaterasu,  the  goddess 
of  the  sun  !  " 

But  the  Impetuous  Man,  Susanoo,  liked  it  not  that 
his  sister  Amaterasu  should  be  greater  and  fairer  than 
he ;  and  he  complained  to  his  father  Izanami,  saying, 

"  Thou  for  thine  au- 
gust self  didst  estab- 
lish precedence  over 
my  august  mother. 
How  is  it,  then,  that 
my  sister,  who  is  but 
a  woman,  should 
have  all  this  glory?  " 
And  Izanami,  who 
had  forgotten  the 
days  of  his  youth, 
was  very  angry,  and 
bade  him  depart 
MOON  AND  MIST  (GOLD  LACQUER)  from  his  presence 

for  ever.  And  Susanoo  departed,  exceeding  sore  and 
angry ;  and  went  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  his  sister 
Amaterasu,  not  being  minded  to  leave  home  without 
also  "leaving  trouble  behind  him. 

Amaterasu  came  out  proudly  to  meet  him,  and  they 
had  a  trial  of  strength,  one  standing  on  each  bank  of 
the  river  of  milk.  Amaterasu  took  Susanoo's  sword, 
and  bit  it  in  three  pieces,  and  ground  the  fragments 
with  her  teeth ;  and  thereafter  opened  her  mouth,  and 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


347 


out  came  three  beautiful 
women,  with  the  sun 
on  their  faces,  and  cold, 
cold  steel  for  their  hearts. 
And  Amaterasu  said, 
"  Behold  the  women  of 
whom  thou  needest  have 
no  jealousy  !  Thou  who 
art  not  worthy  of  sis- 
ters, I  give  thee  slaves  !  " 

And  Susanoo  the  Impetuous 
said,  "  Better  than  that  can  I 
do  !  The  sun-goddess  can  make 
slaves,  but  I,  the  storm-wind, 
make  warriors !  "  And  he  tore 
the  jewels  from  her  neck  and 
arms,  and  the  jewels  from  her 
hair ;  and  he  ground  them  to 
dust  in  his  sharp  teeth,  and  then 
blew  the  dust  out  on  the  air; 
and  it  floated  across  the  River 
of  Peace,  and  fell  on  the  farther 
shore  at  the  feet  of  the  sun- 
goddess,  and  rose  up  —  five  tall 
warrior-gods,  great  men  of  val- 
our, fully  armed  with  heavenly 
armour.  And  Amaterasu  laughed, 
and  said,  "  Well  hast  thou  done, 
my  brother !  Slaves  to  thee, 
warriors  to  me  !  "  And  she  car- 


PRATER  BEADS.  AMONG  THE 
SACRED  TREASURES  OF 
ISE 


348  LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN 

ried  away  the  five  war-gods  to  her  home ;  and  Susanoo 
planned  another  revenge,  seeing  that  she  had  shamed 
him  again. 

Now  Amaterasu  was  in  truth  a  wise  goddess ;  and 
although  she  could  battle  valiantly  if  need  be,  yet  she 
loved  her  woman's  work  best,  and,  after  her  quarrel 
with  Susanoo,  came  home,  and  dropped  her  shining 
war  garments,  and  crept  into  the  great  hall  clad  only 
in  a  trail  of  mist,  and  sat  down  meekly  at  her  loom 
among  her  maidens,  who  were  weaving  silently  long 
garments  of  rosy  gold  for  the  next  day's  dawn.  And 
Amaterasu  sat  at  her  loom  above  the  rest ;  its  beams 
were  pillars  of  stars,  its  shuttle  a  shooting  star ;  and 
the  warp  she  wove  was  blue  and  the  woof  was  gold. 

Then  suddenly  a  great  rending  noise  was  heard, 
and  Susanoo  tore  open  the  roof  of  the  house ;  and 
before  Amaterasu  could  spring  from  her  place,  he 
flung  over  her  and  her  weaving  a  grisly  covering, 
black  and  white  and  dropping  gouts  of  blood,  the 
skin  of  a  piebald  horse'  which  he  had  flayed  from  tail 
to  head.  Wildly  the  maidens  screamed,  and  ran  from 
their  places.  Amaterasu  fled  from  her  weaving  more 
swiftly  than  the  shuttle  threads  the  loom,  and  she  ran 
and  hid  herself  in  a  cave,  and  pulled  a  stone  before 
the  door.  Then  was  the  world  in  darkness,  and  reed- 
growing  Japan  became  a  kingdom  of  the  night. 

Terrible  was  the  confusion  that  followed.  All  the 
powers  of  evil  were  let  loose ;  and  in  the  noise  they 
made  in  their  fancied  triumph  it  was  hard  for  the 
righteous  gods  to  speak.  But  these  gathered  together 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  349 

in  the  bed  of  the  River  of  Tranquillity,  which  runs 
through  the  plains  of  Heaven ;  and  they  talked  long 
and  earnestly,  trying  to  discover  a  plan  by  which  they 
could  induce  the  sun-goddess  to  return  and  rescue  the 
universe  from  the  darkness  in  which  it  was  plunged. 

"Will  she  not  come  out,  if  we  show  her  beautiful 
garments,"  said  they,  "and  gems  to  take  the  place  of 
those  which  Susauoo  ground  to  powder?"  So  they 
planted  mulberry  trees,  and  made  shining  garments  of 
their  bark  and  hemp,  and  made  inner  garments  for 
the  goddess  from  the  fibre ;  gems,  too,  they  found, 
green  and  blue  and  white,  and  these  they  polished 
and  made  into  necklaces  and  bracelets :  but  the  goddess 
remained  hidden,  and  would  not  come  out.  Then  they 
built  her  a  palace  of  heavenly  architecture,  and  filled 
it  with  beautiful  adornments,  and  called  to  her  to  come 
forth  and  behold  it ;  but  she  would  not.  And  the  gods 
were  in  despair;  for  the  world  was  still  dark. 

Then  there  came  a  god,  small  and  old,  but  wondrous 
wise,  and  he  is  called  the  Thinker,  for  all  thoughts 
that  ever  were  in  the  world  are  in  his  heart  first ;  and 
he  laughed  softly  in  his  white  beard  at  all  the  plans 
of  the  young  gods.  "  Clumsy  and  halt  are  all  your 
efforts,"  he  said  to  them.  "  You  say  to  her,  '  Behold, 
here  are  jewels,  and  here  is  a  palace ;  look,  0  Ama- 
terasu ! '  Not  so  will  the  goddess  heed  you ;  little  she 
cares  for  that  she  knows  of.  'Tis  that  she  knoweth 
not  of,  that  she  longs  to  know,  which  will  draw  her 
from  her  cave !  I  will  teach  you  the  ways  of  the 
August  Female  Deity !  " 


350 


LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 


So  the  Thinker  called  Amatsumori,  the  blacksmith 
of  the  gods,  and  he  caused  him  to  hammer  out  a  mirror ; 
and  this  was  the  first  mirror  that  was  ever  fashioned. 

Amatsumori  made  it  out 
of  iron  that  had  fallen 
from  Heaven ;  and  he 
hammered  and  smelted 
and  polished,  and  ham- 
mered and  polished  again, 
till  he  had  made  the  mir- 
ror worthy  to  reflect  the 
unbearable  beauty  of  the 
sun-goddess. 

And  then  the  gods 
took  all  the  gifts  that 
they  had  made,  and  they 
hung  the  garments  and 
jewels  on  a  tree  like  a 
standard ;  and  they  car- 
ried the  mirror  also,  and 
came  to  the  door  of  the 
cave.  Far  to  the  north 
it  lay,  in  a  land  of  ice 
and  darkness ;  and  the 
door  was  closed  with  a 
huge  grey  stone.  When  they  reached  it,  they  made  a 
great  fire  to  warm  themselves  —  for  Amaterasu's  going 
had  left  them  cold  —  and  then  they  began  to  sing  and 
make  merry,  even  as  the  Thinker  commanded. 

Music   came   from   the    strings    of  bows ;    a  bamboo 


THE    GOD    WHO    IS    CALLED    THE    THINKER 


LETTERS  FKOM  JAPAN  351 

grew  up  hollow  to  make  a  flute ;  and  a  little  goddess 
called  Uzume,  young  and  light  of  foot,  began  a  joyous 
dance  on  a  hollow  drum,  which  gave  back  a  note  for 
every  beat  of  her  little  feet.  And  as  she  danced  she 
sang,  a  strange  song  with  many  meanings ;  and  the  fire 
crackled,  and  the  bow-harp  and  the  flute  made  music, 
and  the  gods  burst  into  roars  of  laughter  at  Uzume' s 
wild  song ;  and  in  the  darkness  of  the  cave  Amaterasu 
was  angry  first,  saying  to  herself,  "  Ah !  they  are  glad 
now  who  grieved  at  my  going.  Who  has  taken  my 
place,  I  wonder  ? "  And  she  came  very  near  to  the 
door  and  listened,  and  could  make  nothing  out  of  the 
uproar ;  and  her  woman's  heart  said,  "  I  must  know 
what  it  means  —  if  I  die  for  it !  " 

So,  very  gently,  she  pushed  back  the  stone  a  little 
way,  and  immediately  a  beam  from  her  face  ran  athwart 
half  the  heavens,  and  she  saw  that  the  gods  were  rejoic- 
ing greatly.  Then  she  pushed  the  stone  a  little  farther, 
and  cried  angrily,  "  How  is  it  that  you  rejoice  when 
I  have  left  you?  How  can  Uzume  dance  and  sing 
when  darkness  lies  on  Japan,  and  none  can  see  his 
fellow  in  the  land  of  reeds  ?  " 

"  No  darkness  more,"  said  Uzume ;  "  we  have  found 
a  fairer  goddess  than  thou !  Behold  !  "  And  she  held  up 
the  great  mirror,  wherein  was  reflected  the  beautiful  face 
of  Amaterasu  herself,  with  her  eyes  like  the  midday,  and 
her  hair  a  wheel  of  white  flame.  And  Amaterasu  crept 
nearer,  and  came  out  of  her  cave  to  gaze  on  her  own 
reflection ;  and  as  she  did  so  the  strong  gods  hung  a  straw 
rope  before  the  entrance,  the  rope  that  none  may  pass. 


352  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

So  they  persuaded  her  to  remain  among  them,  and 
to  live  in  the  palace  they  had  prepared.  And  although 
she  looks  longingly  at  her  cave  sometimes,  and  even 
goes  near  the  entrance  for  a  few  short  days,  when  she 
sees  the  straw  rope  she  remembers  all  her  brother-  and 
sister-gods  who  loved  her  so  much,  she  remembers 
all  the  generations  of  her  children  in  the  land  of  reeds, 
and  she  turns  back  and  smiles  on  them  once  more, 
unwilling  to  leave  them  comfortless. 

And  in  time  Amaterasu  came  to  love  reed-growing 
Japan  more  than  all  the  plains  of  Heaven.  And  when 
there  was  a  question  as  to  which  of  the  heavenly  deities 
should  go  down  to  rule  its  people,  Amaterasu  would 
have  sent  her  own  son ;  but  he  said,  "  Nay,  I  will  abide 
with  thee ;  let  us  send  my  son,  Ninigi,  thy  august  grand- 
child." And  to  Ninigi  Amaterasu  gave  the  three  sacred 
things  —  the  mirror  of  the  heavenly  reflection  which  had 
lured  her  from  the  cave,  the  holy  sword,  and  the  sacred 
jewel,  telling  him  to  keep  them  for  ever;  and  as  to 
the  mirror,  she  said,  "Hold  this  sacred,  for  it  is  my 
spirit.  In  thy  house  and  close  to  thee  let  it  dwell ; 
worship  it  as  thou  wouldst  worship  me." 

Ninigi  obeyed;  and  so  did  his  grandson,  the  great 
Jimmu  Tenno,  the  founder  of  the  present  dynast}-, 
which  has  reigned,  according  to  Japanese  chronology, 
for  over  two  thousand  years.  But  one  of  the  Emperors 
in  the  year  92  B.C.  thought  that  the  time  had  come 
to  house  the  sacred  treasures  in  a  palace  of  their 
own,  and  he  built  the  first  of  the  shrines  of  Yamada 
in  Ise,  where  they  have  been  kept  ever  since.  The 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  353 

sanctuaries  of  Ise  (it  is  the  name  of  the  province) 
are  built  in  the  purest  Shinto  style,  of  plain  woods, 
with  the  fewest  possible  adornments ;  they  are  not 
allowed  to  stand  more  than  twenty  years,  and  are 
always  renewed  after  exactly  the  same  pattern  in 
every  detail.  One  set  of  buildings  is  prepared  just 
before  the  expiration  of  the  period,  and  the  sacred 
emblems  in  their  centuple  coverings  are  removed  with 
tremendous  pomp  from  the  old  to  the  new  temple,  the 
old  then  being  broken  up  and  sold  or  given  away  in 
minute  particles  as  charms.  The  Government  have 
been  bringing  out  a  work  on  Ise",  with  most  perfect 
coloured  engravings  of  the  relics  kept  there.1  The 
mirror  is  considered  too  sacred  to  be  looked  at,  and 
has,  it  is  said,  not  been  beheld  by  mortal  eyes  for 
many  centuries ;  a  new  cover  of  rich  silk  is  always 
put  over  the  old  one  when  this  begins  to  wear  out. 
The  Government  publication  has  superb  engravings  of 
ancient  swords,  musical  instruments,  prayer-beads,  and 
stuffs;  the  "jewels"2  so  constantly  spoken  of  are  frag- 
ments of  polished  stone  of  great  brilliancy,  shaped  very 
like  a  human  ear,  and  pierced  with  a  hole  as  if  to  hang 
on  a  string.  The  shape  is  constantly  reproduced  in 
ornamental  designs,  and  to  my  mind  resembles  one  of 
the  "  eight  fairies "  or  sacred  signs  of  China.  The 
resemblance  is  probably  fortuitous,  as  Shinto,  the  Way 
of  the  Gods,  is  not  supposed  to  have  borrowed  its 

1 1  have  all  that  has  appeared  of  the  work ;  but  it  has  now  been 
stopped,  having  proved  fearfully  costly. 

2  A  good  example  of  these  jewels  is  given  in  the  smaller  pendants  of 
the  necklace  shown  in  the  illustration  on  p.  347. 

VOL.    II  2  A 


354  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

emblems  thence,  and  has  had  many  a  fight  to  preserve 
and  recover  its  own  from  the  encroachments  of  Bud- 
dhism. In  many  places  the  two  faiths  have  been  welded 
into  one,  so  dear  and  familiar  to  the  people  that  no 
"  purification "  can  dissociate  them  in  the  popular  mind. 
But  the  Is£  shrines  are  devoted  to  the  pure  Shinto 
worship ;  and  are,  according  to  their  own  priests'  account, 
precisely  the  same  in  their  simple  form  and  short 
ceremonial  as  they  were  two  thousand  years  ago. 

For  many  centuries,  I  believe,  a  Princess  of  the 
Imperial  family  was  always  the  High-priestess  of  Ise 
living  as  a  nun,  and  devoting  herself  to  the  care  of  the 
sacred  regalia  and  the  worship  of  the  sun-goddess. 

This  brings  me  to  the  subject  of  nuns,  both  Buddhist 
and  Shinto,  who  have  interested  me  greatly,  when  from 
time  to  time  I  have  come  across  dear  old  ladies  with 
shining  shaven  heads  going  in  and  out  of  the  temples. 
These  are,  I  fancy,  merely  widows,  who  have  vowed 
not  to  marry  again,  and  who  spend  most  of  their  time 
in  praying  for  their  dead.  There  are  two  kinds  of 
Buddhist  nuns,  called  the  Professional  and  the  Un- 
professional. The  Unprofessional  nuns  are  (and  were 
always)  the  widows  of  men  of  a  certain  position  and 
standing.  They  do  not,  as  axrule,  leave  their  homes; 
but  having  vowed  not  to  marry  again,  they  remain  faith- 
ful to  the  vow,  and  devote  all  that  is  left  of  life  to 
prayer  before  the  family  shrine,  or  butsudan.  Here  the 
mortuary  tablet  of  the  dead  man  is  set  up,  and  before 
it  the  widow  makes  the  daily  offerings  of  food  in  the 
small  and  severely  plain  vessels  set  apart  for  such  a 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN  355 

use.  Flowers  may  be  placed  there  too,  and  incense-sticks 
alight,  whose  fragrance  will  be  a  solace  to  the  spirit, 
which  in  a  true  yet  unexplained  manner  is  believed  to 
be  in  the  Meido,  the  land  of  shadows,  and  yet  in  the 
home  at  the  same  time.  The  worshipper  calls  to  it  by 
ringing  a  little  bell,  just  as  in  the  temples  those  who 
would  pray  first  clap  their  hands,  to  ask  the  god  to  look 
and  listen,  as  my  poor  Ogita  used  to  say.  In  the  old 
feudal  days  of  Japan  the  wife  and  concubines  of  the 
Shogun  or  any  other  Daimyo  were  obliged  to  become 
nuns  after  their  husband's  death ;  the  wife  would  keep 
her  old  place  in  the  house,  but  the  concubines  lived  in 
another  building  together,  all  their  needs  being  supplied 
from  the  chief  house.  Both  wife  and  concubines  were 
expected  to  spend  most  of  their  time  in  praying  for  the 
dead.  You  remember  that  that  masterful  lady  Masako 
became  a  nun  after  the  death  of  Yoritomo. 

The  Professional  nuns  live  very  strict  lives.  Besides 
the  vow  of  chastity,  they  promise  lifelong  abstinence 
from  flesh  meat  of  any  kind;  and  they  are  obliged  to 
assist  in  serving  in  the  temple  both  morning  and  even- 
ing. Great  misfortunes  and  reverses  would  often  send 
the  daughters  of  the  family  into  the  convent  in  past 
times ;  where  leprosy  was  hereditary  the  daughters 
always  became  nuns ;  and  sometimes  the  death  of  a 
betrothed  lover  would  drive  a  heart-broken  girl  to  the 
refuge  of  the  kindly  convent,  where  she  would  never 
be  troubled  by  the  addresses  of  any  other  suitor. 

There  are  now,  I  am  told,  very  few  temples  which 
have  nunneries  attached  to  them.  One  of  these,  how- 


356  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

ever,  is  at  Zenkoji,  not  far  from  our  summer  house  in 
Karuizawa.  It  was  established  in  very  early  times,  and 
the  present  abbess  is  a  beautiful  woman  belonging  to 
a  noble  family  in  Kyoto.  She  is  always  gorgeously 
robed  in  royal  purple.  Very  different  -are  the  poorer 
Professional  nuns,  whom  one  sometimes  sees  about  the 
streets,  dressed  in  long  black  gowns,  their  faces  com- 
pletely hidden  by  their  enormous  hats,  and  ringing  a 
little  bell,  which  is  an  appeal  for  alms. 

But  for  the  bell  they  are  extraordinarily  like  the 
poor  Franciscans  who  have  an  orphanage  at  Sorrento, 
and  whom  I  have  so  often  seen  going  round  in  their 
great  straw  hats  and  dark  robes,  generally  with  two 
or  three  small  girls  carrying  the  bundles  of  food  which 
had  been  bestowed  on  them.  Dear  old  things !  I  could 
have  embraced  the  Japanese  recluses  for  their  sake ! 


CHAPTER  XLI 

A    VISIT   TO    THE   MUSEUM.  —  AN    ANCIENT    CAR.  —  MY   GUIDE. 
—  CHRISTIAN    RELICS.  —  PERSECUTORS   AND   PERSECUTED. 
—  AN    HOUR   IN   THE   ART   SCHOOL   AMONG   THE  LACQUER- 
WORKERS 

April,  1892. 

OPRING  is,  after  all,  Japan's  loveliest  season,  when 
the  country  smiles  and  weeps,  pales  and  flushes, 
like  a  maid  decked  for  her  bridal.  I  have  seen  it 
three  times  now,  and  yet  it  comes  as  a  long-expected 
joy,  eagerly  watched  and  waited  for.  Everything 
seems  lovelier  than  usual  this  year ;  and  though  my 
heart  has  made  a  thousand  journeys  over  the  westward 
water,  and  Europe  is  drawing  me  with  irresistible 
compulsion,  yet  it  saddens  me  to  think  that  I  shall 
not  see  the  cherries  bloom  next  year,  nor  the  wistaria 
arbour  flush  from  grey  to  purple,  sink  back  from  purple 
to  green.  I  shall  not  write  many  letters  after  this, 
and  I  am  wondering  which,  of  all  sights  and  scenes 
yet  undescribed,  you  would  rather  hear  of  on  this  soft 
spring  day. 

Did  I  ever  tell  you  of  my  delightful  visit  to  the 
Uyeno  Museum  and  the  School  of  Art,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  director,  Mr.  Okakura?  It  always 
seems  to  me  that,  if  I  see  things  at  all,  I  have  the 

357 


358  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

good  fortune  to  see  them  in  the  most  charming  way. 
The  Uyeno  Museum  is  a  store-house  of  art  treasures 
and  historical  memories,  and  to  have  the  delightful  and 
learned  director  for  my  companion  there  was  a  great 
joy.  It  was  one  morning  in  the  beginning  of  April 
that  I  drove  up  through  the  flowery  avenues  to  the 
great  building  where  he  was  waiting  for  me.  From 


CHERRY    TREES    ON    THE    SUMIDA    RIVER 


the  brilliant  sunshine  and  the  waves  of  cherry  blossom 
that  seemed  breaking  like  foam  through  the  dark 
branches  of  the  pines,  we  passed  to  the  twilight  dignities 
of  the  great  halls,  where  all  the  legacies  of  the  past- 
weapons  of  war  and  robes  of  gold,  lutes  and  fans, 
swords  and  drinking-cups,  embroideries  and  lacquer 
and  enamel,  all  the  discarded  pomps  of  a  splendour- 
loving  people  —  are  gathered  and  set,  line  by  line,  case 
by  case,  as  if  for  burial.  There  is  something  strangely 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  359 

like  death  in  the  still  untroubled  air  of  such  places  —  air 
so  separate,  in  its  irrevocable  calm,  from  all  the  joy- 
ous pulsing  of  the  live  world  in  the  sunshine  without, 
so  sealed  and  set  apart  from  the  vibrating  existence 
of  to-day,  that  I  almost  doubt  if  the  ghosts  (Japan 
is  full  of  ghosts)  of  those  who  made  these  things, 
and  who  doubtless  hang  round  them  still,  would 
acknowledge  a  descendant,  a  compatriot,  in  the  modern 
Japanese,  the  man  of  science,  who  took  me  past  them, 
and  told  me  in  quiet,  somewhat  scornful  tones  of  their 
histories  and  values. 

My  guide,  wrho  is  perhaps  the  greatest  existing 
authority  on  these  subjects,  was  dressed  in  his  own 
dignified  costume,  and  seemed  outwardly  in  harmony 
with  the  Japan  of  the  past.  He  has  large  brilliant 
eyes,  and  a  low  clear  voice ;  his  English  is  fluent  and 
complete.  He  rather  laughed  at  my  delight  over  the 
first  object  that  met  my  view,  a  magnificent  bullock- 
cart,  which  used  to  be  the  Imperial  travelling  carriage. 
It  is  as  large  as  a  small  room,  with  heavy  wheels, 
that  must  have  turned  with  august  slowness  over  the 
august  roads ;  time  could  have  been  of  no  value  to 
the  august  travellers  then.  Heavy  beams  of  the  most 
splendid  black-and-gold  lacquer  support  a  four-square 
tent  of  lacquer  and  carving,  with  jealous  curtains, 
heavily  tasselled  with  silk,  closing  the  openings  of 
the  front  and  sides.  Very  long  poles  run  out,  also 
in  lacquer;  and  these  were  attached  to  stout  white 
bullocks,  who  advanced,  step  by  step,  their  hoofs 
weighted  with  the  pride  of  drawing  the  Son  of  Heaven, 


360  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

who,  sitting  in  his  gilded  shrine,  and  passing  through  his 
fair  domains,  must  have  found  it  very  easy  to  believe  that 
he  had  the  makings  of  a  deity  in  him,  at  all  events. 

Not  always  was  it  an  Emperor.  Sometimes  the 
car  was  surmounted  by  a  golden  phoenix,  and  then 
the  brown  men  and  women  in  the  rice-fields  of  "  reed- 
growing  Japan"  knew  that  their  Empress  was  passing 
by.  I  have  a  print,  a  Japanese  print  of  the  last  century, 
full  of  figures  in  trails  of  purple  and  rose,  and  pale 
carmine  and  primrose  gold.  The  colouring  is  that  of 
the  iris  gardens  of  Hori  Kiri,  when  the  sun  is  setting 
softly  behind  the  translucent,  silky-bannered  ranks, 
shining  here  purple,  there  white,  there  gold  or  copper, 
as  the  flowers  grow.  And  in  the  crowd  of  lovely  figures 
there  are  movements  and  swayings  so  like  the  iris 
shapes  that  in  my  mind  I  call  it  the  iris  picture.  Now 
the  central  thing  in  my  picture  is  the  Imperial  bullock- 
cart,  exactly  as  I  found  it  in  the  Museum.  The  beautiful 
shape,  graceful  for  all  its  square  strength  and  roominess, 
is  hung  with  curtains  of  delicate  blinds,  each  held  in  place 
by  a  great  tie  of  silk ;  its  poles  have  that  splendid  curve 
of  strength  as  if  of  themselves  they  had  leapt  forward 
in  the  royal  service.  In  my  picture  the  phoenix  does  not 
crown  the  roof;  and  there  are  no  bullocks,  but  a  crowd 
of  lovely  maidens,  gathering  close  round  their  Empress, 
who  has  descended  to  the  ground.  So  many  are  they, 
so  eager  to  serve  her,  that  I  think  they  must  have  been 
trying  to  draw  the  cart  themselves  ;  but  if  so,  it  had 
been  too  much  for  their  slender  strength,  so  now  the 
Empress  stands  in  the  midst  of  them,  still  between  the 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  363 

shafts,  her  wonderful  drapery  blown  a  little  about  by 
a  rebel  wind,  her  beautiful  face  with  a  sad  little  smile 
bent  down  on  her  breast,  where  her  two  hands  are 
trying  to  hold  her  splendid  robes  together.  You  can 
see  her  figure  swaying  to  the  wind.  And  the  girls, 
in  draperies  scarcely  less  splendid,  have  taken  each 
some  part  of  her  princely  baggage :  one  a  crown  on  a 
cushion,  one  a  jui,  or  fairy  sceptre,  one  her  bow,  one 
her  arrows ;  others  carry  musical  instruments,  some  hold 
the  shafts  ;  and  past  them  all  the  rebel  wind  is  sweeping, 
playing  with  streamer  and  gown,  and  causing  the  heads 
to  bend  for  fear  that  the  wonderful  wings  and  coils  of 
hair  should  be  set  straying  by  its  force ;  and  to  it  they 
all  oppose  the  yielding  strength  of  the  iris.  Their  faces 
are  far  paler  than  their  robes,  and  in  my  picture  even 
these  are  fading  now,  so  I  know  that  they  are  long 
dead  ;  doubtless  the  wind  had  its  way  in  the  iris  garden. 

And  my  guide  wondered  that  I  cared  to  stand  so 
long  looking  at  the  old  bullock-cart ! 

Well,  at  last  we  went  on,  and  he  led  me  through 
hall  after  hall  of  strange  things :  prehistoric  were  many 
of  them,  arrow-heads  and  knives,  and  spear-heads  in 
stone  —  the  things  on  which  humanity  seems  to  have, 
so  to  speak,  cut  its  teeth  simultaneously  all  over  the 
world;  strings  of  those  strange  "jewels"  the  maga- 
tama,  stones  curved  like  an  ear,  and  the  kuda-tama, 
like  straight  tubes,  worn  as  ornaments  once,  and  then 
coming  to  be  regarded  as  talismans  and  holy  things. 
Only  in  one  part  of  the  Emperor's  dominions  does  their 
use  still  survive  —  in  the  Loo-Choo  Islands,  where  many 


364  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

a  grim  old  custom  is  carried  on  to  this  day.  Of  all 
living  races  that  I  know  of,  the  Loo-Chooans  are  the 
only  people  who  have  the  courage  to  face  the  worst 
horrors  of  corruption  in  their  care  of  the  dead.  These 
are  laid  away  in  caves,  and  for  five  dreadful  years  it  is 
considered  the  duty  of  the  living  once  a  year  to  take 
them  from  the  kindly  shroud  of  the  darkness,  bring 
them  to  the  light  and  wash  the  poor  remains,  then 
wrap  them  again  in  their  coverings,  and  lay  them  by. 
After  five  years  the  body  is  supposed  to  be  sufficiently 
reduced  to  be  put  in  boxes  and  placed  in  the  household 
shrines.  The  Japanese  Government  have  repeatedly 
forbidden  the  practice,  but  find  that  it  is  still  carried 
out  by  stealth,  to  the  great  danger  of  the  population 
after  any  epidemic.  I  had  a  curious  glimpse  of  some 
Loo-Choo  people  last  year,  which  I  will  record  here,  as 
I  think  I  did  not  tell  you  of  it  at  the  time. 

I  had  taken  a  huge  party  of  children  and  young 
people  to  —  switchback  in  Uyeno  Park !  Yes,  a  splendid 
switchback  was  set  up  under  lyeyasu's  pines,  and  was 
much  patronised  by  the  Japanese.  Well,  just  as  my 
English  boys  and  girls  tumbled  out  on  the  platform 
after  their  third  ride,  a  grave  party  of  Loo-Chooans 
came  and  paid  their  fee.  They  were  (as  we  found  out) 
well-to-do  merchants,  who  had  made  up  their  minds  to 
see  the  wonders  of  the  capital.  The  party  consisted  of 
two  middle-aged  men,  one  youth,  and  a  most  reverend 
senior,  an  old  man  with  a  beautiful  white  beard,  erect 
head,  and  piercing  dark  eyes.  All  the  men  had  larger 
eyes  and  smoother,  darker  skins  than  the  true  Japanese, 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


365 


and  much  of  the  gentle  look  of  the  Malayans.  In  their 
dress  a  dark-purple  colour  predominated,  and  there  were 
some  slight  variations  from  the  ordinary  Japanese  cos- 


A    DAIMYO  S    MEDICINE-BOX 
IN    LACQUER    (BACK) 


A    MEDICINE-BOX    (FKONT) 


tume,  but  not  enough  to  attract  attention.  All  my  gay 
young  people  stood  aside  to  let  the  strangers  have  their 
turn,  and  these  took  their  places  with  a  solemnity  evi- 
dently mingled  with  awe.  The  old  man  sat  down  on 


366  LETTERS   FKOM  JAPAN 

a  front  seat,  and  spread  his  robes  in  geometrical  lines 
over  his  knees,  joined  his  hands  as  if  in  prayer,  and 
looked  straight  before  him.  The  younger  men  got  in, 
and  off  they  went  at  a  breakneck  pace.  The  youth 
clutched  the  seat,  and  screamed ;  the  middle-aged  men 
clutched  the  seat,  and  were  silent.  The  old  man  came 
back  precisely  as  he  had  gone  ;  his  beard  was  nearly 
blown  off  his  face,  and  his  garments  were  all  over  the 
place,  but  he  had  never  turned  his  head  or  ceased  to  look 
solemnly  before  him,  and  his  hands  were  folded  as  if 
in  prayer.  My  young  people  made  an  entreaty  through 
our  interpreter  that  he  would  go  again.  The  sight  was 
entrancing  to  their  young  imaginations.  No,  thank  you. 
It  was  all  doubtless  most  clever  and  beautiful ;  but  the 
gods  had  been  kind.  Let  us  not  presume  on  their 
favours.  Good-bye. 

I  left  you  in  the  Uyeno  Museum,  you  say  ?     Did  I  ? 
Well,  the  switchback  is  only  just  outside ! 

"  C'est  bien  de  moi !     Quand  je  chevauche 

L'hyppogriffe  au  pays  du  bleu, 
Mon  ame  sans  corps  se  debauche, 
Et  s'en  va  comme  il  plait  a  Dieu ! " 

You  must  take  my  stories  as  they  come,  or  not  at  all ! 
Yes,  I  saw  many  things  that  day.  Are  not  the 
lists  of  them  in  the  helpful  pages  of  Murray,  written 
by  two  of  my  great  friends  ?  The  director  asked  me 
if  we  cultivate  the  nose  in  Europe.  I  turned  my 
profile  to  him  with  just  pride ;  but  that  was  not  what 
he  meant.  The  art  of  smell  has  been  brought  to  its 
perfection  here;  and  I  was  shown  little  bronze  burners 


LETTERS   FROM   JAPAN 


3G7 


in  which  one,  two,  three  —  a  dozen  different  kinds  of 
aromatic  stuff  can  be  burnt  at  once,  the  puzzled  guests 
being  required  to  name  every  ingredient  used.  At  one 
time  these  perfume  parties  were  very  popular,  and 
Mr.  Okakura  told  me  that  he  knew  people  who  could 
detect  each  and  every  perfume  of  any  combination, 
there  being  over  fifty  kinds  of  incense  in  all. 


,    .'••': J 


A    GOLD    LACQUERED    CASKET    OF    THE    EARLIEST    PERIOD 

Then  I  stood  for  long  by  the  relics  of  the  Japanese 
embassy  to  Rome,  when  the  great  Daimyo  of  Sendai, 
Date  Masamune,  sent  one  of  his  nobles  with  a  huge 
train  of  followers  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the 
Pope,  and  to  ask  for  his  prayers  and  assistance.  There 
is  an  oil-painting  of  the  ambassador,  in  early  seventeenth- 
century  costume,  praying  with  folded  hands  before  a 


368  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

crucifix;  in  a  case  are  various  objects  of  devotion — • 
rosaries,  crucifixes,  and  so  on ;  and  close  by  are  the 
horrible  blocks  of  metal,  generally  stamped  with  a 
crucifix,  which  in  the  persecutions  were  laid  down 
before  the  feet  of  those  suspected  to  be  Christians 
—  they  must  walk  over  these  or  die.  How  many 
thousands  refused,  how  many  pure  souls  left  their 
martyred  bodies  to  their  enemies,  how  many  delicate 
women  and  little  children  kept  their  faith  and  lost  their 
lives,  we  can  hardly  tell.  Christianity  was  stamped 
out  as  a  national  religion ;  but  I  think  the  martyrs 
prayed  for  their  beloved  country,  cruel  as  it  had  been 
to  them.  And  a  little  gerrn  was  kept  alive.  Nearly 
thirty  years  ago,  some  missionaries  landing  near 
Nagasaki  found  whole  villages  hidden  away  in  the 
hills  by  the  sea,  where  the  old  prayers  were  still  said 
just  as  they  had  been  learnt  two  centuries  before, 
where  baptism  was  administered  and  marriages  and 
burials  prayed  over  faithfully,  although  never  a  priest 
had  set  'foot  there  since  their  first  pastors  had  been 
killed.  The  poor  people's  joy  was  overwhelming ;  but 
even  at  such  a  recent  date  persecution  found  them  out 
again.  They  were  exiled,  and  dispersed  for  a  time. 
But  only  for  a  time.  Universal  toleration  was  pro- 
claimed in  1873,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
their  discovery,  after  my  arrival  in  Japan,  the  Catholic 
Bishops  and  their  priests  went  in  state  to  celebrate 
a  great  religious  festival  among  these  faithful  people. 
A  friend  of  mine  who  accompanied  them  told  me  that 
nothing  could  be  more  entire  or  beautiful  than  the 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  369 

faith  then  shown.  The  people  came  flocking  on  foot 
over  the  hills,  whole  fleets  of  boats  covered  the  sea, 
and  the  good  souls  wept  for  joy,  crowding  round  the 
Bishop  to  touch  his  hands,  his  robes,  his  feet. 

Let  us  forget  the  persecutors :  has  not  every  nation 
numbered  such  at  some  moment  of  her  history  ?  I  like  to 
remember  that  all  those  faithful  martyrs  were  Japanese ; 
that  in  their  sweetness  and  constancy  "  le  Bon  Dieu 
a  fait  des  siennes,"  as  an  old  nun  said  to  me  one 
day;  and  that  everywhere  in  the  island  empire  we  may 
feel  that  we  are  surrounded  by  true  hearts  and  brave 
spirits,  loyal  to  the  best  that  has  been  revealed  to  them. 
As  far  as  Christianity  is  concerned,  the  revelation  goes, 
step  by  step,  with  the  lives  led  by  Christians  here ; 
and  when  I  hear  of  hatreds  and  jealousies  and  pitiful 
scandals,  I  do  mourn  almost  more  for  the  good  retarded 
than  for  the  evil  done.  Evil  in  its  nature  is  passing, 
and  the  insult  to  the  majesty  of  God  will  find  its  repa- 
ration in  the  sacred  heart  of  His  Son ;  but  the  good 
retarded  ?  Ah !  that  is  a  different  matter !  So  many 
lovely  actions  and  humble  prayers  and  glad  thanks- 
givings robbed  from  the  heavenly  treasury,  just  be- 
cause —  Christian  men  and  women,  with  grace  to  draw 
on  and  truth  to  look  at,  and  God's  right  hand  to  lead 
them  in  the  sight  of  men  and  angels  in  this  poor  old 
nineteenth  century,  will  not  lead  Christian  lives ! 

Ah !  I  am  preaching  again !  Let  us  get  back  to 
business. 

We  finished  the  morning  in  Mr.  Okakura's  especial 
domain,  the  Art  School,  situated  in  the  same  grounds, 


2  B 


370 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


and  not  very 
far  from  the 
Museum.  Here 
students  were 
carving,  paint- 
ing, drawing  ; 
and  many  a 
bright  face  was 
turned  upon  us 
as  we  passed 
from  room  to 
room.  That 
which  interested 
me  most  was 
the  making  of 
lacquer — along 
and  complicated 
process,  which  I 
had  never  be- 
held before.  In 
little  rooms  the 
men  sat  one  or  at 
most  two  work- 
ing together,  in 
just  the  silent, 
patient  way 
which  seems  fit- 
ting for  the  production  of  that  marvellous  material. 
From  the  first  handling  of  a  thin  bit  of  wood  to  the 
point  where  decoration  pure  and  simple  may  begin, 


A    HAPPY    FAMILY 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  371 

thirty -seven  separate  processes  must  be  gone  through. 
A  very  fine  and  thoroughly  seasoned  wood  is  used  for 
the  foundation ;  the  first  applications  of  lacquer  are 
rubbed  away  again  and  again ;  a  fine  textile  substance 
is  spread  on  the  surface,  layer  on  layer,  as  one  by  one 
absorbs  the  rare  varnish ;  then  these  are  polished  again, 
each  drying  being  effected  slowly  in  moist  darkness ; 
then,  in  fine  red  lacquer,  comes  a  layer  of  gold-dust, 
laid  on  thick  and  moist,  and  entirely  covered  again  by 
that  gorgeous  scarlet,  its  only  use  being  to  make  the 
red  richer  and  deeper;  and  at  last,  after  weeks  and 
months  of  preparation,  the  decorative  work  comes,  a 
marvel  of  richness,  bird  and  beast  and  flower  in  raised 
gold,  where  every  modelling  is  clear  and  effective,  yet 
the  whole  smooth  to  the  touch  as  the  inner  walls  of  a 
sea-worn  shell.  It  is  almost  indestructible :  you  can  fill 
your  bowl  with  boiling  spirits,  you  can  drown  it  for 
years  in  the  salt  sea  (I  have  seen  beautiful  old  speci- 
mens of  lacquer  recovered  from  wrecks),  and  it  will 
always  return  to  you,  whole  and  smooth  and  golden  as 
on  the  day  it  first  saw  the  light. 

AVhen  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  tear  myself 
away  from  the  lacquer  studios,  the  chief  artist, 
Fukumatsu,  who,  ]Vlr.  Okakura  told  me,  is  considered 
the  greatest  living  worker  in  lacquer,  had  a  long 
conversation  with  the  director,  and  I  was  told  that 
he  wished  me  to  have  a  little  specimen  of  his  work, 
which  he  would  make  for  me  from  the  very  beginning, 
allowing  no  one  else  to  touch  it  even  in  the  preparatory 
stages.  It  should  be  something  with  my  mon,  or 


372  LETTERS  PROM  JAPAN 

crest,  upon  it,  and  lie  came  down  to  the  carriage  to 
have  a  look  at  the  "  stag's  head  proper  erased "  on 
the  panel.  That,  however,  did  not  strike  him  as  artistic, 
and  I  was  asked  whether  some  other,  presentment  of 
a  stag  would  do  as  well.  Any  other  animal  would  do 
as  well,  I  thought,  in  Mr.  Fukumatsu's  inspired  fingers ; 
and  after  thanking  him  for  his  kind  thought,  I  said 
farewell  to  the  director  and  his  lacquer  magicians. 
Life  was  very  full  just  then ;  and  though  I  did  not  for- 
get my  visit  to  the  school,  Mr.  Fukumatsu's  benevolent 
intentions  went  clean  out  of  my  head. 

Six  weeks  later  a  packet  was  brought  me,  wrapped 
in  covering  after  covering  of  soft  yellow  silk.  When 
these  were  shed  away,  a  tiny  black  box  lay  in 
my  hand,  decorated  with  a  golden  stag  —  a  thing  so 
fine  and  perfect  that  it  might  be  worn  as  a  gem.  The 
inner  surface  (the  whole  thing  is  barely  an  inch  and  a 
half  across)  is  a  tangle  of  golden  weeds  on  a  powdered 
goldstone  ground,  and  the  two  halves  fit  together  so 
that  you  can  hardly  see  where  they  close.  A  letter 
from  Mr.  Okakura  accompanied  the  charming  gift, 
asking  me  to  keep  it  in  remembrance  of  my  visit,  and 
saying  that  Fukumatsu  had  begun  it  on  that  day  and 
had  just  finished  it  now.  It  will  be  one  of  my  pet 
treasures,  the  materialisation  of  a  most  pleasant  memory. 


CHAPTER   XLII 

THE  EMPEROR'S  SILVER  WEDDING. — A  TYPICAL  GATHERING. 
—  NO  DANCING. — THE  CURTAIN  FALLS 

TOKYO,  April,  1894. 

rriWO  years  have  passed  since  I  wrote  my  last  letter 
"•-  from  home  to  home  —  years  in  which  all  the  old 
threads  have  been  taken  up  and  strengthened  and 
renewed ;  and  now  I  am  once  more  in  this  half-way 
house  of  the  world,  whence  a  step  to  east  or  west 
brings  me  nearer  to  Europe.  I  do  not  think  I  have 
really  been  so  far  from  Japan  that  I  did  not  sometimes 
see  the  cherry  blossoms  drifting  on  the  wind,  did  not 
sometimes  hear  the  scream  of  the  wild  goose  through 
the  winter  sky  and  the  long  roll  of  the  surf  thundering 
up  on  the  Atami  beaches.  Whatever  life  brings  or  takes 
away  —  and  I  came  with  a  heavy  heart  to  this  other 
home  of  my  love,  as  if  life  or  death,  I  knew  not  which, 
were  chanting  some  final  dirge  in  my  ears  with  every 
break  of  the  sea  against  the  ship's  side  —  whatever 
comes,  Japan  will  always  be  my  second  home.  One 
cannot  explain  these  things.  I  have  lived  in  many 
countries,  north  and  south  and  east  and  west,  and, 
except  in  the  Rome  of  our  childhood,  in  none  have  I 
found  the  spirit  of  beauty,  the  spirit  of  peace,  the 

373 


374  LETTEKS   FROM  JAPAN 

skirts  of  Nature's  robe  ever  at  hand  to  cling  to,  as 
I  have  here,  "  east  of  the  sun,  west  of  the  moon," 
in  the  land  of  the  gods,  reed-growing  Japan. 

Fuji  smiled  on  me  as  of  old  beyond  my  bower  of 
cherry  blossom  to-day ;  the  garden  has  gone  mad  with 
some  jubilee  of  growth,  throwing  out  thousands  of 
gorgeous  roses  even  so  early  as  this,  before  the  azaleas 
have  done  naming  over  their  fairy  hillocks ;  every  palm 
tree  in  house  and  garden  is  going  to  flower  this  year ; 
the  bamboos  are  all  a-feather  with  new  shoots  ;  the  great 
wistaria  arbour  is  a  dream ;  and  I  have  a  crimson  carpet 
spread  under  the  translucent  green  and  purple,  and  sit 
there  whole  days  just  watching  things  grow,  and  seeming 
to  hear  the  sap  bubbling  up  to  intoxicate  the  world  with 
beauty. 

There  have  been  some  splendid  Court  functions  to 
celebrate  the  silver  wedding  of  the  Emperor  and  the 
Empress.  The  anniversary  fell  on  March  9th,  just  after 
our  arrival,  and  for  many  days  we  lived  in  a  kind 
of  pageant  of  pomp  and  colour.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  no  dancing  at  the  Palace ;  but  I  had  better  tell 
you  the  story  from  the  beginning,  if  I  can. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  there  was  a  great  recep- 
tion at  the  Palace,  which,  from  entrance  to  audience- 
chamber,  was  full  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers.  We 
mustered  in  force ;  and  when  it  was  our  turn  to  go  in 

and  congratulate  the  sovereigns,  H and  I  led  quite 

an  imposing  staff  up  to  the  steps  where  they  stood. 
Of  late  I  have  been  the  only  woman  in  the  party,  and 
it  was  delightful  to  have  dear  Mrs.  L with  me  this 


LETTERS    FK<>M    .JAPAN 


time,  looking  quite  charming  in  her  mauve-and-silver 
Court  gown.  I  had  found  a  brocade  all  over  straw- 
berries, and  in  spite  of  H 's  sarcastic  quotation,  "Ce 

n'est    plus  la   mode  de   s'asseoir  sur  son  blason " 
it    bravely.      We    were      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M 
received     in     a     small 
drawing-room,    as    we 
usually  are  for  a  pri- 
vate audience. 

The  Empress  was 
wearing  such  a  mass 
of  diamonds  that  you 
could  hardly  see  what 
her  dress  was  made  of. 
Everything  was  white, 
and  in  the  brilliant 
sunshine  that  glowed 
on  white  jewels,  white 
satin,  white  flower-.  1 
remembered  my  first 
real  sight  of  Fuji,  with 
the  blaze  of  the  winter  midday  lying  white  on  its  dazzling 
snows.  The  Empress's  fine  little  face  was  as  white  as 
all  the  rest ;  but  her  dark  eyes  shone  very  happily  under 
her  diamond  crown,  and  there  was  quite  a  ring  in  her 
voice  as  she  answered  all  our  pretty  speeches ;  indeed, 
she  talked  more  gaily  than  I  have  ever  heard  her  do 
before.  The  Queen's  message  arrived  just  an  hour  be- 
fore we  started  for  the  Palace,  and  we  were  profoundly 
thankful  that  it  came  in  time  for  H to  deliver  it 


THE    C.RAXD    MASTER    OF    CEREJl 


376  LETTEKS  FROM  JAPAN 

at  the  audience.  The  Emperor  looked  like  a  piece  of 
the  sun  himself  in  his  brilliant  uniform  and  splendid 
decorations ;  and  he,  too,  had  for  once  laid  aside  the 
cold  calmness  of  his  usual  manner,  and  laughed  and 
talked  as  if  he  were  in  the  best  of  spirits.  After  the 
stock  phrases  had  been  exchanged,  he  told  me  that  he 
heard  I  had  brought  a  wonderful  dog  from  England  (a 
new  Dachs,  who  took  command  of  Tip  and  all  the  rest 
the  day  he  arrived) ;  and  I  felt  cold  for  a  minute,  fear- 
ing that  politeness  would  require  me  to  place  Toney 
Bones  at  his  Majesty's  disposal.  But  —  I  did  not ! 

There  was  a  review  in  the  afternoon ;  but  I  did  not 
go  to  that,  preferring  to  reserve  my  strength  for  the 
evening,  which  promised  to  be  long  and  interesting. 
The  Emperor  and  Empress,  by  the  way,  began  their 
day  with  a  religious  service  in  their  private  chapel  two 
hours  before  they  received  us.  The  Emperor's  taste  in 
religion,  as  in  other  things,  is  for  extreme  simplicity ;  and 
the  chapel,  which  I  regret  not  to  have  seen,  is  of  course 
pure  Shinto,  containing  the  ihai,  or  mortuary  tablets, 
of  his  Majesty's  ancestors.  All  the  Imperial  family 
and  the  chief  dignitaries  of  the  empire  assisted  this 
morning  at  the  service,  prayers  being  offered  in  turn, 
and  incense  burnt  before  the  ihai.  All  the  day  had 
gone  in  giving  audiences  and  reviewing  troops,  and 
I  thought  their  Majesties  had  a  right  to  be  very  tired, 
when  the  time  came  for  the  evening's  entertainment  to 
begin. 

It  consisted  first  of  a  dinner,  given  to  eight  hundred 
people  in  different  banqueting-halls  of  the  Palace,  the 


LETTERS   FROM   JAP  AX 


377 


! 


rorxr  IXOI.-YE 


Imperial  Princes  acting  as  hosts  for  the  Emperor,  who 
presided  at  the  table  in  the  great  dining-room,  where 
two  hundred  guests  were  accom- 
modated. I  had  been  through  the 
room  again  and  again,  and  had 
often  wondered  how  it  would  look 
filled  with  people  and  lights  and 
flowers.  So  I  saw  it  now,  lighted 
from  end  to  end  with  soft  shin- 
ing candles  (no  electric  light  has 
been  used  in  the  Palace  since  the 
burning  of  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment), lined  with  flowers,  the  long 
table  which  ran  round  three  sides  of  the  room  just  one 
line  of  light  and  silver  and  hothouse  blooms.  The  seats 
for  the  Emperor  and  Empress  were  tall  gilt  armchairs, 
and  behind  them  the  wall  ran  back  in  an  alcove,  a  remi- 
niscence of  the  tokonoma,  the  alcove  of  honour  in  the 
chief  room  of  a  Japanese  house. 
This  was  a  bower  of  flowers,  and  in 
the  midst  of  them  were  set  two 
quaint  little  figures  of  a  very  old 
man  and  a  very  old  woman,  the 
Darby  and  Joan  of  Japanese  legend, 
who,  though  humble  (they  are  always 
represented  in  poor  clothes,  and  car- 
rying implements  of  work  —  the  old 
MARyns  SAIGO  man  a  spade,  the  old  woman  a 

broom),  lived  in   the    greatest    contentment   and   happi- 
ness   to    extreme    old    age,   never   having   quarrelled   in 


378  LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 

their  lives.  I  have  often  seen  the  quaint  figures,  with 
their  smiling,  wrinkled  faces  and  snow-white  hair,  at 
lowly  festivals  and  in  poor  people's  homes.  There  was 
something  rather  touching  about  finding  them  here,  put 
up  as  the  types  and  patrons  of  married  happiness,  in 
the  midst  of  all  the  pomp  and  magnificence  of  the 
Imperial  feast. 

Just  opposite  the  sovereigns'  places,  the  silver  orna- 
ments took  the  shape  of  sculptured  cranes,  each  over 
four  feet  high,  with  silver  pine  trees  beside  them,  and 
great  silver  tortoises  at  their  feet.  These  were  presents 
to  the  Emperor  from  some  of  the  Princes  of  the  Imperial 
family.  The  work  was  lovely,  and  they  made  a  beautiful 
effect,  rising  out  of  the  sea  of  flowers  and  silver  and 
gleaming  glass.  Beside  the  plate  of  every  guest  stood 
a  miniature  crane,  with  a  tortoise  at  his  feet,  exquisitely 
worked  in  silver  and  enamel,  forming  the  cover  to  a 
casket  of  bonbons.  These  were  the  Emperor's  gifts 
to  his  guests,  and  certainly  mine  is  a  curio  that  I 
should  be  sorry  to  part  with.  The  dinner  was  admirably 
served  —  no  small  triumph  when  you  remember  that 
European  methods,  with  all  that  they  entail  of  utensils, 
glass,  porcelain,  silver,  and  linen,  do  not  enter  into  the 
daily  life  of  the  Palace  at  all.  The  service  was  perfect 
—  a  footman  to  every  two  guests;  and  all  this  crowd 
of  men  did  not  get  in  each  other's  way,  attended  quietly 
to  one's  wants,  and  made,  in  their  dark  liveries  of 
crimson  and  black  and  gold,  an  effective  background 
to  the  long  rows  of  guests,  where  the  women  were 
almost  all  in  white,  relieved  with  gold  or  silver  and 


LKTTERS    FROM    JAPAX 


379 


covered  with  jewels,  the  men  with  hardly  an  exception 
in  all  the  glory  of  smart  uniforms.  Only  the  chiefs 
of  missions  and  their  wives  had  been  asked  to  the 
dinner,  and  there 
were  but  four  of 
the  latter,  so  my 
place  was  very  near 
the  Emperor  and 
Empress;  and  I  hud 
quite  enough  to 
keep  me  good  and 
amused  while  the 
feast  lasted.  There  SILVER  WEUDIXG  MEDAL 

were  people  present  that  night  who  rarely  show  them- 
selves in  public :  old  pretenders  to  the  throne ;  old 
leaders  of  rebellions ;  fierce  fighters,  the  story  of  whose 
feats  would  make  one's  blood  run  cold  but  for  the  hot 

white  fire  of  hero- 
ism that  lights 
them  up.  How 
strange  it  was  to 
sit  opposite  to  these 
men  here  in  the 
Palace ;  to  watch 
the  calm  dark  faces 
veiled  by  that  man- 
tle of  cold  suavity 
more  impenetrable  than  an  iron  mask;  to  listen  to  the 
quiet  small  talk  of  an  official  feast;  to  watch  the  deco- 
rations rise  and  fall  on  breasts  that  were  heaving  to 


SILVER    WEDDING    MEDAL 


380 


madness  with  the  lust  of  war  or  the  pride  of  race  or 
the  desire  of  revenge  only  a  few  years  ago !  Tokugawa, 
Mori,  Iwakura,  Kido,  Saigo,  the  brother  of  the  Satsuma 
leader,  Kawamura,  who  so  tenderly  washed  the  beloved 

rebel's  head  while  the  brother 
wept  over  it  —  name  after  name 
down  the  long  table  spoke  of 
that  recent  history  of  the  coun- 
try which  to-day's  Japan  has 
left  a  thousand  years  behind. 
Here  are  some  of  their  por- 
traits ;  for  these  typical  coun- 
tenances will  bring  the  guests 
more  clearly  before  you  than 
any  words  of  mine.  All  the 
heads  bowed  one  way,  all  the 
glasses  were  lifted  with  a  gesture  of  devout,  passionate 
loyalty,  when  the  Emperor's  health  was  drunk ;  and  the 
Emperor,  sitting  there,  not  talking  much,  but  smiling 
kindly  on  all  within  his  vision,  must,  I  think,  have  felt 
warm  at  heart  with  the  conviction  that  at  last  he  has 
prevailed ;  he  has  carried  out  the  dream  which  worked 
in  his  restless  brain  in  the  many  splendours  of  Kyoto, 
in  the  long  fight  against  bonds  which  had  grown  with 
the  growth  of  centuries,  which  burnt  into  his  spirit  all 
through  his  boyhood,  till  he  risked  all  to  snap  them, 
and  —  prevailed.  He  rules  alone  to-day,  in  spite,  per- 
haps because,  of  all  that  he  has  granted  in  reforms,  in 
public  freedom,  in  representative  government,  and  indi- 
vidual liberty.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  man  of  any 


COUNT    OKUMA 


LETTERS  FROM  JAPAN 


381 


party  in  Japan  who  would  not  be  glad  and  proud  to 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  Emperor.  If  a  war  should 
come,  Japan's  armies  will  gather  of  themselves  from 
every  home  in  the  empire. 

But  I  must  not  talk  of  war  now,  for  the  silver 
wedding  was  a  festival  of  peace.  When  dinner  was 
over,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  held  a  kind  of  cerck 
in  one  of  the  drawing-rooms,  where  all  the  vases  and 
wreaths  of  flowers  had  swarms  of  silver  butterflies 
hanging  over  them.  There  was  a  little  pleasant  talk, 
and  then  we  all  went  to  the  throne-room,  where  the  no, 
the  ceremonious  dance,  was  to 
be  performed. 

Here  we  found  a  crowd  of 
people,  all  the  other  guests  in- 
deed, waiting  for  the  sovereigns' 
arrival.  The  room  itself  had 
been  a  good  deal  altered,  and  I 
hardly  recognised  the  five  hun- 
dred square  yards  of  polished 
parquet  over  which  I  have  had 
to  skate  with  slow  dignity  on 
various  occasions.  The  throne, 
which  is  usually  here,  had  been 
removed,  and  a  high  dais  had 
been  erected,  where  tvfofauteuils 
were  placed  for  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  with  seats 
below  on  either  side  for  the  Cabinet  Ministers  and  for 
the  Foreign  Representatives,  running  a  little  way  down 
the  two  sides  of  the  room ;  but  close  to  the  throne 


BARON    ITO 


382  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

behind  were  seats  for  the  Imperial  Princes  and  Princesses 
and  for  the  Empress's  ladies.  They  looked  charming, 
all  massed  together  in  their  shining  dresses  and  jewels 
under  the  lights.  The  Empress  was  wearing  a  still 
more  gorgeous  gown  than  she  had  on  in  the  morning 
—  a  cloth  of  silver  with  a  design  of  phoenix  plumes  in 
the  brocade,  I  think.  She  looked  very  white  and  fragile 
against  the  dark  silk  hangings  behind  her  chair,  a  little 
wraith  of  royalty,  wrapped  in  trails  of  misty  silver, 
the  long  gleams  breaking  from  the  diamond  stars  in 
her  crown  as  from  the  edge  of  a  sword  whirled  in  the 
sun. 

The  place  was  already  crowded,  and  the  moment 
we  had  found  our  seats  some  curtains  which  hung  over 
the  glass  screen  at  the  farther  end  were  drawn  back, 
musicians  came  in,  made  a  low  obeisance  to  the  sover- 
eigns, and  crept  to  their  places  at  the  back  of  a  low 
square  platform,  which,  covered  with  green  cloth,  occu- 
pied the  centre  of  the  room.  It  was  only  slightly 
raised  above  the  floor,  and  was  well  below  the  da'is  on 
which  the  Emperor  and  Empress  sat. 

And  then  the  no  began.  Here  is  a  translation  of 
my  programme  card : 

"THE   9TH  DAY  OF  THE  SRD   MONTH  OF   THE 
27TH  YEAR  OF  MEIJI 

BANZAIRAKU 

Music  composed,  1300  years  ago,  by  the  Emperor 
Yomei.  It  represents  the  joyous  flight  of  a  Bird  of 
Paradise  in  the  Golden  Age. 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN  383 

ENGUIRAKU 

Music  composed,  987  years  ago,  by  Fujiwara  Tadaf  usa, 
General  of  the  Life  Guards.  The  accompanying  dance 
was  composed  by  Prince  Atsumi. 

TAIHEIRAKU 

Music  rearranged,  from  the  Chinese  original,  1037 
years  ago.  It  represents  the  idea  of  the  establishment  of 
peace  by  the  regulation  of  every  disorder  or  discrepancy. 

BAIRO 

Music  from  India,  transmitted  to  Japan,  1160  years 
ago,  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Shiomu.  It  is  also 
called  Bairo-Hajinraku,  and  represents  the  idea  of  the 
submission  of  enemies." 

Such  is  the  programme,  indeed ;  but  how  can  I 
describe  to  you  the  extraordinary  scenes  and  sounds 
to  which  these  few  bald  sentences  and  unintelligible 
names  introduced  us?  The  first  effect  of  the  low, 
grinding  music,  with  its  threatening  drum  effects  and 
stormy  cries,  was  painful ;  a  feeling  of  tension,  anxiety, 
unnaturalness,  took  possession  of  me,  and  I  wanted  to 
get  up  and  move  about,  to  do  anything  that  was  abso- 
lutely impossible ;  but  when  the  Bird  of  Paradise  came 
floating  over  the  floor,  with  golden  wings  and  flowing 
draperies  and  outspread  arms,  as  if  seeking  for  its  mate, 
the  sense  within  me  had  found  its  air,  and  breathed 
with  a  gasp  of  joy.  For  the  Bird  of  Paradise  seemed 
to  be  a  beautiful  girl,  very  slender,  and  so  light  that 
she  rose  and  fell,  as  it  were,  on  the  wings  of  the  music, 
which  followed  and  wafted  her  on,  backwards  and  for- 
wards, floating  and  sinking,  just  as  the  spring  wind 


384  LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 

carries  the  birds  that  have  flown  too  low  in  my  garden. 
There  was  nothing  sudden  or  unexpected  about  the  dance 
at  first.  The  Bird  of  Paradise  sunned  itself  in  the 
light ;  then  another,  its  mate,  came  gliding  towards  it, 
and  there  were  two  of  them,  darting,  swaying,  whirling 
hither  and  thither  across  the  dark  stretch  which  in  some 
way  gave  the  impression  of  being  empty  air ;  faster  and 
faster  the  quick,  darting  movements  came  ;  more  rapidly 
the  draperies'  soft  floating  reds  and  golds  were  blown 
in  ever-recurring  twists  and  folds  round  the  slight 
figures ;  then  the  music  died,  and  the  dancers  knelt 
with  their  heads  low  on  the  ground  in  homage  to  the 
Emperor,  who  smiled,  and  said  a  word  of  precious  praise, 
sure  to  be  treasured  for  a  lifetime. 

There  was  a  pause,  and  I  awoke  from  the  kind  of 
trance  that  had  fallen  on  me,  and  looked  round  slowly, 
trying  to  remember  where  I  was.  A  Japanese  friend 
leaned  forward  from  behind  me,  and  began  to  tell  me 
some  more  of  the  fairy  tale.  These  were  not  girls,  but 
boys ;  all  the  no  at  Court  are  performed  by  men 
alone.  Yes,  doubtless  they  were  not  bad  ;  indeed,  there 
should  be  none  better,  since  for  eight  hundred  years 
the  same  family  had  always  provided  the  Emperor's 
dancers,  and  were  trained  to  these  exercises  from 
father  to  son,  father  to  son.  But  see,  the  new  dance  is 
beginning,  a  martial  measure.  Those  men  are  dressed 
in  armour ;  the  music  is  harsh  and  loud ;  they  wheel 
and  turn,  they  retreat  and  advance ;  the  light  strikes 
on  cold  pale  faces  and  gleaming  eyes,  on  helmets 
towering  with  some  dragon  crest,  on  gloved  hands 


LETTERS    FROM    JAPAN  385 

grasping  a  spear,  on  mystic  fell  of  fox  or  badger  wrapped 
for  a  charm  round  the  up-curved  sword-sheath.  And 
my  obedient  spirit  follows  on,  to  dreamland,  fairyland  - 
to  a  new  and  yet  old  country  of  my  thoughts,  where 
these  strange  rhythms,  the  triumphant  measures,  have 
meant  more  to  me  than  I  can  remember  to-day.  I 
cannot  understand  the  little  buzz  of  talk  which  breaks 
out  after  each  perform- 
ance, as  if  those  around 
me  were  glad  to  warp 
back,  like  a  spent  bow- 
string, to  the  common 
lines  of  life.  I  can  sym- 
pathise with  the  Em- 
peror, whose  face  lights 
up,  whose  eyes  dilate, 
as  he  watches  the  mys- 
terious no,  he  has  ceased 
to  talk,  and  sits  in 
silence,  waiting  for  the 
next  lifting  of  that  cur- 
tain of  the  dreamland 

p     t    •     ,  MY    SILVER    CRAXE 

of  history. 

Ah!  this  is  the  Indian  music  — a  strong,  many- 
throated  strain,  with  tender  intervals  and  pauses  and 
swelling  notes  of  sober  joy.  Who  knows  what  voices 
gave  it  birth  four  thousand  generations  back  in  the 
country  over  the  sea  ?  Strange,  indeed,  are  the  dresses 
of  the  dancers  now,  six  tall  men,  straight  as  palms, 
lithe  as  the  spear  cut  from  the  young  bamboo,  with 


386  LETTERS  PROM  JAPAN 

close-shod  feet,  and  close-wrapped  sleeves  that  show 
every  turn  of  the  fine  wrist  as  it  darts  or  draws  back 
the  spear  that  compels  the  submission  of  enemies.  Are 
the  men  six,  or  one,  I  wonder?  Faultlessly  matched 
in  height  and  figure,  they  go  through  their  rapid  evolu- 
tions with  such  precision  that  every  streamer  and  end 
of  drapery  makes  the  same  curl  on  the  air  at  the  same 
moment.  Their  dress  seems  like  a  close-clinging  tunic 
and  under-robe  of  some  soft  silk  tissue,  in  which  threads 
of  red  and  gold  are  closely  intermingled,  so  that  the 
folds  which  seemed  red  in  the  shadow  break  in  dusky 
gold  where  the  light  falls  on  them.  But  the  whole 
costume  is  composed  of  ribbonlike  bands  of  material, 
which  hang  close  when  the  wearer  is  in  repose,  but 
shake  and  part  and  float  on  the  wind  of  his  motion ; 
and  as  the  movement  swings  on  in  a  triumphant  step, 
these  bands  fly  aside,  all  at  the  same  instant,  at  the 
same  angle,  and  reveal  gleams  of  splendid  armour 
beneath  —  breastplates  where  the  light  twinkles  on  gold 
and  lacquer,  arms  where  a  sleeve  of  mail  clings  to 
the  supple  muscles  —  show  the  sword-hilt  on  the  hip, 
and  a  long  straight  blade  hanging  by  the  swift  straight 
limbs.  Six  great  spears  dart  upright,  cross  their  points, 
are  laid  out  in  a  square  on  the  cloth  while  the  dancers 
thread  quick  steps  across  and  across  them ;  and  at  last, 
as  the  music  screams  for  victory,  the  men  fall  back, 
each  in  his  place,  stretched  almost  on  the  ground,  his 
head  by  the  spear's  head,  his  feet  at  the  spear's  foot ; 
they  hang  for  an  instant,  as  if  in  the  act  of  falling 
still,  and  at  a  sudden  note  spring  to  their  feet  with 


LETTERS   FROM  JAPAN 


387 


their  draperies  whirling  behind  them,  they  drop  the 
spear-points  in  low  obeisance  towards  the  Emperor,  their 
heads  touch  the  ground  in  uniform  homage,  and  they 
are  gone ;  the  screens  have  closed  behind  them.  See, 
the  royalties  are  moving ;  they  pass  down  the  lines, 
smiling  a  kind  good-night  to  all.  The  ninth  day  of 
the  third  month  of  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  Meiji, 
the  Period  of  Enlightened  Peace,  is  over,  and  the  curtain 
of  To-day  has  fallen,  grey  and  tangible,  over  the  dreamy 
splendours  of  the  Past. 


BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR 


PALLADIA 

A  NOVEL 
i2mo.        Cloth.        $1.25 

"  A  novel  of  the  good  old-time  size,  such  as  always  gives  the  genuine 
story-reader  a  sense  of  having  a  full  meal  set  before  his  mental  appetite.  .  .  . 
There  is  nothing  like  plagiarism  or  inspiration  at  second-hand  about  the 
story,  and  yet  something  in  the  atmosphere  reminds  the  reader  of  the  breezy 
regions  in  which  Mr.  Hope  loves  to  revel."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

u  This  story  is  a  most  complicated  (and  be  it  said  fascinating)  mixture  of 
orient  and  Occident.  Corinthian  craft  and  German  court  etiquette,  hearts 
veined  with  wild  gypsy  blood  beating  in  tune  with  the  self-repressed,  calm 
blood  of  British  propriety."  —  Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"  A  very  ingenious  and  exciting  story  of  adventure,  incident,  and  romance." 

—  The  Outlook. 


THE  BROWN  AMBASSADOR 
A   Story  of  the  Three   Days'    Moon 

i2mo.        Cloth.        $1.25 

"  The  story  is  told  with  a  sprightliness  that  is  likely  to  insure  for  it.  and 
for  its  winning  characters,  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  youthful  readers." 

—  Bookman. 

"  This  story  is  well  told,  and  the  interest  is  sustained  in  a  way  which  will 
prove  entertaining  to  the  young  reader."  —  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

'•  A  book  of  no  small  fascination.  .  .  .  Those  who,  their  curiosity  roused 
by  the  title,  dip  into  the  book,  may  be  sure,  if  they  are  the  right  kind  of1  peo- 
ple, of  reading  it  through  with  pleasure  and  finishing  it  with  regret." —  Critic. 

"The  threads  of  fairy  fable  and  ordinary  child  life  are  very  skilfully 
entwined,  and  the  result  is  a  most  amusing  and  entertaining  fiction." 

—  Churchman. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

66   FIFTH   AVENUE,    NEW   YORK 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


THE,  LIBRARY 
ONTVERSIty  OF  CALIFORNIA 

"    T  /"•  -"  -• 

.  .-..    t-  ^ 


DS 
809 

F86 


Fraser   - 

Lftfrhars    frr>m 


v  .  2          Japan  . 


Ill  I  Ml     II  Ml  II  II 

A     000  585  288     4 


DS 
809 
F86  t 
v.2 


